


You Don’t Belong Here

by SereneArchangel



Category: Aliens vs Predators Series - Various Authors
Genre: Alien Sex, Aliens, Battle, Blood, F/M, Fighting, Gore, Graphic, Jealousy, Verbal Abuse, Violence, Xenomorph - Freeform, Yautja, avp
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-14 09:42:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 66
Words: 66,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29915007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SereneArchangel/pseuds/SereneArchangel
Summary: Brielle Ronaldi has devoted her life's work to uncovering the secrets of extraterrestrial life. After her world was turned upside down, Brielle finds herself quickly climbing the ranks of the G.L. Brooks Association. A recent addition to the facility's "exotic assets" leaves the shellshocked scientist at a loss for words. Science demands that she do whatever is necessary to gain more information regarding the creature, but the woman's humanity argues that compassion is key.Author's Note: I do not own AVP, any attached music, or any of the artwork. This story does contain original characters and is rated EXPLICIT  for graphic content and language.
Relationships: Brielle Ronaldi/O’kaor, Dhadtoudi/T’ahrou
Comments: 1
Kudos: 6





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> Author's Note: I do not own AVP, any attached music, or any of the artwork. This story does contain original characters and is rated EXPLICIT for graphic content and language.

Brielle woke to the sound of her phone screaming a horrid alarm from the nightstand. The sound jolted her from the deep sleep that had recently overpowered her body. Grabbing the phone, she instinctively swiped the green button and pressed the device to her face. "Hello..?" She tried to rub the groggy sensation from her eyes but the deep voice on the other end of the line sent a cold chill down her spine and adrenaline began to pump through her body.

"Miss Ronaldi," the voice belonged to Gregory Brooks, CEO of the G.L. Brooks Association for Insterstellar Research, "we need you to come in immediately. It's urgent."

"Y-Yes, Mr. Brooks...I'll be there within the hour." The call suddenly disconnected and Brielle stumbled from her bed as she began darting about her single bedroom loft to gather her equipment. She shoved her laptop into a black backpack and threw on a black sports bra, red hoody, tugged a pair of black skinny jeans on over her neon pink thong, and stepped into her black high top sneakers since she was already wearing socks. She ran a brush through her hair with little grace as she warmed a blueberry bagel in the toaster. When the pastry was crisp to her satisfaction, she shoved it in her mouth before tugging her bag onto her shoulders and running for the door, yanking her keys from a bowl on a small table near the entrance.

Like a madman she dashed for the elevator and more or less jumped inside, pushed the button for the parking garage, and scarfed down the remainder of her lackluster breakfast. The metal door chimed an announcement that she'd arrived at the parking garage just as the metal compartment slid open. She sprinted four rows down and hooked to the left before throwing her leg over the seat of a red motorcycle and starting the ignition. Despite the shaking in her hands, she was able to kick the bike into gear and peeled out of the building faster than any officer of the law would have preferred.

She sped the three miles to the highway and turned onto the ramp leading to State Highway 38 where she quickly gained on the sparse morning traffic that was present on a Saturday morning. Brielle weaved in and out of the lines of cars with expert precision, driving nearly 30 miles over the speed limit. Her usual 47 minute ride was shortened to a mere 28, and she exited onto the barely noticeable two-lane paved street that curved up a large hill and out of view of the city below. Before she knew it she'd arrived at the security gate of the facility where a blonde man in his early forties waved her down. She screeched to a halt and turned her backpack towards the man; without question he scanned an identification badge that was attached and waved her through the gate.

The brunette took off once more, easily breaking the 15mph speed limit for the two mile long driveway. She whipped into a parking space labeled "RESERVED FOR D.E.I." and pulled the keys from the bike before running inside the building, simultaneously removing her badge from her pack and swiping it through the locking mechanisms on the various doors.

Once inside the heavily fortified steel building, the young woman was met by a bald man dressed in a suit. "Brielle, they're waiting for you in the lab. Here, Mr. Brooks had me get you breakfast." As he walked alongside her, Brielle gave offered him a grateful nod before taking the offering of a bowl filled with fruit and a large cup of coffee mixed with vanilla creamer and raspberry flavoring. She quickly downed the steaming liquid as they walked quickly through the hallways before chomping down on the fruit. The bald man glared at her when he noticed her hands trembling, and she gave him an apologetic grin.

"I'm excited." She lied.

"You haven't been taking your medication." Brielle was about to argue with the man when a door ahead of them was thrown open to reveal another man dressed in a suit: Mr. Brooks himself. His thick black hair contrasted nicely with his piercing blue eyes, and he waved for Brielle to hurry along. She discarded her trash in a nearby bin before jogging ahead to her employer, scanning through the doorway as she went.

Brooks nodded in greeting at the shorter woman as she moved past him and they both stepped into a decontamination chamber. Brielle held her breath as the disinfecting spray was forced into the pair by high-powered vents and another door opened up. She jogged into the laboratory with Mr. Brooks close behind before she stopped dead in her tracks.

Her grey eyes widened in shocked disbelief at the sight of a large humanoid creature lying on a metal gurney with heavy duty straps stretching across his body to hold it down. She cautiously stepped to the creature's side as she looked it over. "You sedated it..?" A male scientist to her right nodded from behind a biohazard suit.

"Yes, it took nearly four times the normal amount, and that's after being hit with the tranquilizer darts. It's been under for about 72 minutes." Brielle nodded in approval before pulling a black hair tie from her wrist and forcing her waist-long chestnut hair into a tight bun before accepting a pair of blue latex free gloves and safety goggles from the scientist.

"Where was it found?"

"It's ship crashed in the woods just outside the city." Brooks spoke up now, but Brielle kept her eyes locked on the creature before her.

"That explains the gashes in its abdomen and bicep..." Brooks hummed in agreement as the woman dropped her backpack gently at her feet. "James, hand me a bloodkit and disinfectant." The scientist gathered the requested equipment, leaving the woman to inspect the facility's new asset. "Specimen appears to be male...approximately seven feet and three inches in height, and the industrial scale shows three hundred-forty pounds in weight. Specimen appears to have excessive muscle mass, humanoid build with thick, leathery hide much like that of a reptile. It's skin is a cream color with dark brown freckle-like spots covering various areas of its body: chest, biceps, flanks, thighs..." She noticed for the first time it's unusual clothing. "specimen is dressed in a metal breastplate that spans to cover its left shoulder, as well as a metal loin cloth, boots, and what appears to be some kind of mask." She let her grey eyes roam the motionless body once more to continue her verbal notes for the recording device that rested on a nearby counter. "Specimen has four fingers and an opposable thumb on each hand as a human, but with black claws instead of fingernails. Subject only has four toes on each foot, and again we see claws instead of nails."

"Are you able to remove the mask, Miss Ronaldi?" Hearing the suggestive tone in Brooks' voice, she looked over the face of the creature before noticing two small cords attached to the side of the metallic object. She gently pulled at the cords before giving a slight twist which released a burst of air resulting in a sharp hiss. The woman visibly flinched, and Brooks took an involuntary step forward. "Brielle..!" She waved the man off, a sign for him to stay where he was. She then let the cord hang freely before twisting and removing the second cord with the same reaction. A moment later, she used both hands to gently remove the silver mask, catching herself off guard with its intense weight and placed it on a nearby surgical tray.

"The subject seems to have a small mouth with two rows of sharp teeth, with four tusk-like mandibles covering it from the innermost portion of the cheeks...it does not appear to have a nose or gills, so it would be reasonable to assume the subject is a mouth breather." The scientist chuckled softly at her words, but went silent as she cast him a stern glare. "The subject does not appear to have any form of body hair, although it does have long, black tendril-like appendages protruding from its skull that are decorated with silver beads much like dreadlocks would be. The subject also has numerous small, dull spikes that seem to grow from its face near the temple and outer cheek bone. Specimen's eye sockets seem to be dark and sunken in, and the color of the iris seems to be..." she reached to open the creature's eyelids, only to have a pair of bright amber eyes staring back into her own grey ones. Brielle visibly jumped at the sight, and a low growl erupted from the creature's throat.

"What the hell was that..?" Ignoring her coworker's terrified, barely audible question, Brielle continued on.

"Subject's iris appears to be a golden amber color on each side. James, hand me the disenfectant, bloodkit, and grab a bottle of morphine."

"Miss Ronaldi, what is the purpose of the morphine?"

When James returned with the bottled liquid, Brielle built the setup for a dual-purpose intravenous line and slid the needle into the bend of the creature's massive elbow which elicited a louder growl from the being. "Mr. Brooks, I intend to stitch the subject's wounds as well as draw it's blood for the tests required by the association. And taking into consideration that all of the tranquilizers already used are only keeping it in a state of paralysis and not unconscious, given its size I would much prefer to keep the subject comfortable through the process to avoid irritating it further." Seemingly understanding her hidden meaning, Brooks nodded approvingly. She then administered the pain killers and allowed a few minutes to pass before disinfecting and stitching the various cuts and retrieving the required 24 blood samples. When Brielle went to label the tubes with a permanent marker, she glanced over her shoulder to her boss.

"We're calling it 'Project Ghost' due to its ability to turn invisible." Brielle hummed in thought as she wrote 'PGT GHOST' on each of the vials of fluorescent green blood.

"I'll go start the tests...I trust you'll have it moved to my station and placed in the cryogenic tank, Mr. Brooks?" The question was more of a statement, and the man folded his arms over his chest.

"I don't think that will be necessary, Brielle. The exam table will do just fine.

Turning on her heel, she bore into the depths of his very soul with angry grey eyes. "With all do respect, Mr. Brooks, I assure you it is extremely necessary. The specimen has received enough drugs to kill an elephant, and it is still very much aware of it's surroundings. Given the size of it, I wouldn't be surprised if it could break through the table restraints without much effort at all if it were given proper motivation." She took a threatening step toward Brooks, staring intently into his blue eyes. "We all know you favor the safety of your employees above all else, Mr. Brooks, and I feel it would be in safety's best interest if the specimen were placed in the cryogenic tank."

Brooks took a deep breath before casting a brief glance in the direction of his secondary scientist, James. Returning his attention to the woman standing before him, he gave a curt nod and she moved past him with the blood samples organized in a hanging tray held tightly in her shaking hands.


	2. 2

Brielle had learned quickly after helping to move Project Ghost to her lab that its body was not able to sustain the brisk fifty five degree temperature of her laboratory, and had promptly adjusted the thermostat to one hundred and five degrees. She sent all of her temp-sensitive samples and equipment to an unclaimed office and seeing as how the facility runs a skeleton crew on the weekends, she freed herself from her thick hoodie. To her displeasure, she had to keep her jeans on since you never knew who would barge in unannounced.

The specimen began to come of out its sedated state as four of the security members were transferring it into the vat of cryogenic fluids, but once he fell into the thick liquid Brielle had been quick to add more sedatives to the mix. The last thing she wanted was to be locked in a room alone with this creature without its mobility being restricted. Sweat poured from every inch of her body, and she leaned back in her office chair as she placed a cool washcloth over her neck. The young woman made sure to keep her core temperature in a safe window, but it was hard when the heater was constantly running during the hottest month of the year.

Deciding to take a break from the creature's bloodwork, she opened her laptop and pulled up the music player before turning the volume to its maximum setting. The first song projected from the surround sound speakers on her desk was "Ghost" by Mystery Skulls. How fitting, she thought, it's like its own little theme song...

A loud growl erupted through the lab; it was warped from the liquid, but still very clearly a growl. She rotated her seat until she was facing the large container in the center of the room, and if only looks could kill. A chill rolled up her spine as she locked onto the amber eyes that were staring daggers into her head, and she frowned as her own angry expression crossed her features. "I don't want to hear you complain. If I have to suffer through the heat so you can be comfortable, then the least you can do is tolerate my music. You don't have to like it, but I don't want to hear you bitch about it..!"

"Biiitch." Brielle's widened at the sound. Mimicry, she thought, it's copying me..!

"Do that again..." she was leaning forward in her seat now, waiting.

"Nooo..." she sat back with a huff, her brow furrowing in irritation. It's not copying me, it's just being an asshole.

The door to her lab slid open to reveal Brooks standing there. He opened his mouth to speak and then the warmth hit him like a brick wall. "Jesus Christ, Brielle! It's like the Sahara in here!" The man reluctantly stepped inside the room and removed his suit jacket. "I'll have maintenance look at your heating system on Monday."

"The system is fine, Gregory." She gestured in front of her to the creature floating in the vat, who now had its eyes trained on the man. "Our friend here needs a warm environment to stay alive. He almost crashed twice before he was in the pod."

"That's weird, it was just fine before we brought it in here. Are you sure it's not just allergic to something in here?"

She shook her head, her hair damp with sweat at the end of her ponytail. "No, it's likely something to do with the equipment it was wearing. Probably some kind of thermal-regulation system...keep your clothes on!" She scolded the blue eyed man for unbuttoning his white shirt, and he looked at her with an accusatory expression.

"You're half naked!"

"IT'S MY LAB!!"

"That doesn't mean you get to-" his words were cut short by a loud, predatory roar as the creature spread its mandibles and let loose its unbridled rage of being held against its will. Brooks jumped and cried out in surprise, but Brielle only flinched at the sheer volume of the sound.

A moment later, a single word was heard in the vast room. "Bitch." Brielle stifled a chuckle as the man's face reddened from something more than the heat.

"What the fuck did it say?!"

"Whaaat the fuuuck did it saaay?" Brooks looked as though he would stroke out at any moment and Brielle laughed hard.

"Mimicry, what a spectacle. It's like a parrot." The creature moved its focus to her once more as she offered a scape goat.

"Bitch." She frowned at the word, but Brooks only draped his jacket over his shoulder before turning back toward the exit.

"Yes, a clever display, but I don't want to know if it can copy speech...I want to know what makes it tick, Miss Ronaldi. Given your history with our assets in the past, I expect excellent results."

Brooks gave one last glance at the creature before stepping into the hall to the cooled hallway. As soon as the door slammed shut behind him, Brielle heard a voice from the center of the room. "I want to knooow what maaakes it tiiick..."

########

Nearly ten hours had passed since her arrival at the facility, and Brielle was overheated, overworked, and overly exhausted. She turned off the music and packed her laptop into her backpack before standing and pulling her hoody over her head.

"Alright Ghost, I'm heading home for the night. I always lock my lab when I'm away, so I'll be the only one who can get in. You'd better not cause any trouble while I'm gone, because if the facility calls me and I have to come back up here before my shift tomorrow, I swear to God I'll play the most annoying song I can find and I'll put the speakers right next to your tank!" The creature said nothing, and she moved toward the exit with her identification card in-hand. "I mean it, be on your best behavior, got it? I promise, I don't like it here any more than you do."

With that said, the brunette keyed herself out of the room and dimmed the lights before making her way through the winding corridors until she exited the building. Her feet felt heavy as she walked to her motorcycle and headed home for the night.

It felt like an eternity before she reached her loft and pushed through the door, freed herself from the restraint of clothing, and went to the kitchen to retrieve a salad from the fridge. After all the heat exposure, Brielle desperately needed something cold inside her. She gobbled down the vegetables and went to take a lukewarm shower before crawling into bed with her ceiling fan on full blast.

She desperately needed rest since she'd woken up after only three hours of sleep the previous night. Brielle couldn't tell when her thoughts stopped and the dreams began, but she quickly gave in to the lucid experience.


	3. 3

Brielle woke as she usually did, made herself breakfast which consisted of fried eggs, crispy bacon, lots berries and melon slices, and a tall glass of pineapple juice. She took a quick shower and slipped into a heat-friendly outfit: black tank top, white daisy dukes, and her usual black high top sneakers. She decided to wear a jacket to lessen the wind exposure, and retrieved her keys from their usual spot.

She rode the lift to the parking garage like always and started the motorcycle before driving out onto the street. She took her usual route: main road to the on-ramp and then onto the highway before turning onto the hidden drive. She badged through the gate and then the incessant doors all the way to her lab. She was surprised to see Project Ghost awake and tracking her movements with his amber eyes. "Good morning!" The cheerful greeting earned a low growl, but the woman ignored it as she pressed through the miserable wall of heat to her desk. "You're up early. Is that normal for you?" A series of soft clicking sounds trilled throughout the lab, and Brielle moved to set up her laptop as she always did.

"Muuusic." She chuckled at the creature's rumbling voice.

"Yes, I always have to have music playing while I work. It helps me focus." The being growled and she chuckled again. "Is my playlist that bad?" A curt nod was her answer and she feigned heartbreak. "Ouch, that cut deep! What need have I to live now?!" She moved to the front of the tank and looked up at the floating hunter, a sad smile crossed her face. "I'll try to find some better songs if you help me with my research...do we have a deal?"

————————————————————————

"Miss Ronaldi, I have the..." her laboratory assistant was standing in the doorway with a small to-go container in one hand and a large cup of citrus water in the other. The man's brown eyes were wide as he took in the sight of Brielle in her tank top and painfully short denim shorts, but the most shocking part of the experience was that Project Ghost was not in the cryogenic tank, but lying on the exam table with its wrists and ankles in metal restraints. "Y-your food arrived. How did it get out?!"

"Oh, thank you James! How have the trials with Project Lazarus going?" Brielle retrieved the container from her assistant and flipped open the lid to reveal a decent sized pile of Chinese noodles with vegetables and bits of chicken. She stepped to her desk and retrieved a set of wooden chopsticks before taking a large bite of the noodles. "Mr. Brooks hasn't been giving me updates on him recently. You know if he's sick, just take a break from the trials for a day or two and he'll be back to normal."

James cautiously moved toward the exam table, sweat beading on his forehead from both nerves and the immense heat. "P-Project Lazarus is no longer a ward of the facility..." the man paused briefly, rolling the sleeves of his lab coat to just above his elbows. "The government picked it up nearly a week ago. Figured the military would have a field day with a soldier that won't stay dead. Rumors say they paid a pretty penny for it, too..." James could hear the soft breath of the unconscious being as it trilled from his throat almost like a purr.

A moment later, the scientist glanced over his shoulder to notice the brunette staring blankly at the far wall. "Thank you for bringing my food, James, but I think it would be best if you return to the chem lab."

James stood upright and turned to face his superior. "Brielle, you can't get attached to every project that gets placed on your table. You know how this place works."

"They're not projects, they're living beings! They're not collectible baseball cards to be sold off to the highest bidder!" James flinched not only from her tone, but also from the fiery look in her grey eyes. Without arguing, James walked towards the door to be greeted by the cool air of the hallway.

"You need to shut off your emotions, otherwise you will drive yourself into a rut. You can't get attached in this line of work...you can't afford to feel compassion...you can only do your job. That's the only thing that matters. That's the only way to get ahead, Miss Ronaldi."


	4. 4

Redacted...nearly everything had been redacted. Brielle Ronaldi: native to Boulder, Colorado, Ivy League graduate and valedictorian with a double major in biology and cosmology, extensive military career in which the government had given her the means to obtain a doctorate in evolutionary biology which she'd done in only four and a half years...Uncle Sam had redacted most everything else in her file. Even his contact within the FBI couldn't dig anything up on her.

"Mr. Brooks, is everything alright?" Gregory looked from the bulky manilla folder to his driver before closing the endless sea of black and turned his blue gaze out the window.

"Yes, Dimitri. Everything is fine. How much longer until we arrive?"

"About thirty minutes, traffic permitting, sir." Gregory nodded approvingly before casting one last annoyed glance toward the redacted file. "Trouble with Miss Ronaldi again, sir?" A curious hum was the middle-aged Russian man's answer. "You take on a specific expression whenever she steals your thoughts, sir."

Gregory chuckled softly before tossing the accursed folder to the seat beside him. "More secrets, Dimitri. I've never met another woman so cloaked in mystery. Frankly, it's really beginning to piss me off." The man shifted in his seat before adjusting his tie ever so slightly. "I honestly don't know what mother ever saw in her."

"Perhaps it was the fact that Miss Ronaldi doesn't cater to your every whim simply because of who you are. She doesn't seem like the type of woman to bow down and give you what you want just because of your business, your family, or your looks. She's headstrong and challenging. I believe Mrs. Brooks may have thought an independent female would do you some good." Gregory hummed again, taking in his companion's words.

"She's definitely challenging, I'll give you that."

————————————————————————

The sun had recently set on the city and Gregory was leaving his mother's home from her birthday party. It was almost 8:00 P.M. and traffic was backed up at the exit near the facility. After creeping along at a steady seven miles per hour, Gregory Brooks could finally see the flickering of red and blue emergency response vehicles. Some dumbass was probably on their phone and had a fender bender.

"Mr. Brooks," Dimitri glanced in the rear view mirror at his passenger, "remind me again, what color was Miss Ronaldo's motorcycle..?"

"She has a red one and a white one. Why do you ask?"

"And she usually takes the red, yes?" They could now see the disturbance on the highway, and it was no fender bender. A large blue pickup was parked crookedly in the outside lane while a red sports bike lay in pieces near the shoulder. Paramedics were lifting the rider onto a gurney; it was a woman dressed in a jacket, black shirt, and shorts. One of her shoes had seemingly been lost in the chaos, and her right leg was covered in blood. Dimitri was already pulling the car to a stop behind a police cruiser and Gregory jumped from the back seat in a mad dash for the ambulance.

"Hold up, bud! You can't go over there!" The young officer stopped Gregory in his tracks, and he tried to see around the cop.

"Brielle! God damnit, would you move?! I know her! BRIELLE!!" The woman on the stretcher seemed to move a bit, and one of the paramedics lowered their head to hers before calling over to the stubborn cop, telling him to let the man in the suit pass. Gregory didn't wait for permission to dart past the officer and run over to the medical vehicle where he was ushered in next to the rider. There was no doubt about it, the woman was in fact Brielle Ronaldi. The right side of her jacket was torn to shreds, her right thigh was bruised, bloodied, and swollen all to hell, and her left leg had a massive bruise covering most of her thigh and knee.

There was no helmet on her head, a bulky neck brace covered her throat, and her face was scraped and bleeding with noticeable bruising. Glass and gravel coated her wounds and she had a far-off look in her grey eyes. "How do you know her?" The female paramedic questioned Gregory as she hooked a large machine to Brielle's hand and chest.

"I'm her boss..." his voice was softer than he'd realized, and the blonde woman shook her head.

"Well I'm sorry to say she won't be at work tomorrow, sir."

"Fifty..." the pair turned their focus to Brielle as she spoke with a weak, broken voice. "Fifty bucks says you're wrong...I'm just gonna be late."

————————————————————————

Once they reached the hospital, Gregory followed the medical staff into an emergency exam room where they began to cut away Brielle's torn jacket and x-ray her entire body. They lifted her from the first gurney to a second, earning a disgruntled moan from the woman. Upon further inspection, the emergency room doctor had stated that her right femur had a compound fracture, and her hip was dislocated. Her right cheekbone was fractured, she had multiple cuts on her scalp, and the doctor feared she had a concussion.

"Your leg is going to need surgery, Miss Ronaldi."

"The hell it is..." Gregory cast her an angry gaze which she returned with even more ferocity. "You're not cutting into me."

"It is required to correct the damage, Miss Ronaldi. You will need multiple pins and screws to help fuse the bone back together, and-"

"Then you better make damn sure I stay unconscious because if I wake up in the middle of it no one here is going to have a good day..!"


	5. 5

Project Ghost floated in the cryogenic fluid once more as the tranquilizers left his system, and he could hear the warped sounds of that cursed female's music playing in the background. Some parts of the song weren't all that bad, but others, the parts where the "singer" did nothing but scream like a tortured animal...those were not enjoyable.

Several hours passed and the creature knew the female should be returning any time now. An hour later she still had not arrived...perhaps she was running late. He only knew she needed to show up soon because he was growing weary of listening to the same 53 songs over and over again.

Three more hours and still no female. One thing was for sure: he was going to let her have what for when she did return. How dare she keep him waiting, and under such miserable circumstances..!

————————————————————————

"But Miss Ronaldi, we need to keep you under observation for at least a week to make sure that there's no complications-"

"Then I want to go A.M.A.!" The doctor's expression fell as the woman struggled to force herself into a sitting position on the bed, her hospital gown catching on the pins in the brace that covered her thigh and extended down to her calf. "I know you're just doing your job, but I need to leave so I can do mine..!"

"Brielle," Brooks leaned forward in the chair beside the hospital bed, "I can assure you, your position will still be there when you get back."

"You know damn well I don't care about the fucking position. I need to continue my research..! So if you still want me to work at your facility, you will help me get some clothes so I can get the hell out of here!"

Gregory Brooks stared at the woman for a long moment before pulling out his cellphone and pressing a button on speed dial. "Dimitri...yes, listen. I need you to do something for me. Go to the sports store down the road and purchase a loose fitting shirt, some running shorts, and a pair of shoes for Miss Rinaldi. Yes. Yes, thank you. I'll see you soon." The doctor looked to the ceiling and threw his hands in the air, exasperated that not only one but two people could be so hardheaded. "Doctor Grant, please prepare the discharge paperwork. I will take full responsibility for Miss Rinaldi's well-being once she leaves this building." The blonde man in his thirties sighed in defeat before walking out of the room without further argument.

It had taken nearly thirty minutes to prepare all of the discharge and A.M.A. paperwork for the woman, and Dimitri had stepped into the room as she finished signing the last of them. In his hands were an oversized white tee shirt, baggy black hoodie, short red running shorts black underwear and sports bra, black crew socks, and a pair of high top white sneakers. One of the nurses had needed to help her put on the underwear, socks, shoes, and shorts, but she had managed to do the rest herself. Because her right arm had suffered a great deal of road burn, she opted to tie the hoodie around her waist. The nurse had originally brought her a wheelchair to use but the stubborn patient insisted on walking out of the building, even if she had to use crutches to do so.

Once the processes were complete, the doctor had sent the necessary prescriptions to Brielle's preferred pharmacy and was released to the care of Gregory Brooks. For once she was thankful she'd left her laptop at the facility; if it had been destroyed in the crash, she would have felt little reason to continue living. Her phone had been broken beyond repair however, but it didn't have any pertinent files. Those were kept on a micro USB port in a hidden compartment in her apartment. The only information on the broken device was eleven contact names and numbers (all of which belonged to people and departments from the facility), and a handful of music playlists. Nothing of vital importance was held on the device, not even an app for her bills or banking information.

————————————————————————

As she crutched her way through the exit of the hospital, Dimitri ran to pull the car around while Gregory stood alongside the woman on the sidewalk, her torn backpack hanging on his shoulder with her identification badge still intact, and the shattered remains of her motorcycle helmet in his hand. "You're lucky you were wearing this. You could have died."

"I don't believe in luck...but I will say that drunk driver was extremely fortunate that I couldn't get up when his truck slammed me into the barrier." Brooks said nothing as he pictured the large scrape marks on the dislodged cement barrier as well as the marks on the asphalt beneath the crashed motorbike and hundreds of shards of broken glass and metal. He remembered the police ducking a man into the back of a square car as they towed his blue pickup to an impound lot. Not only had he been intoxicated, but he had also been texting when he veered and slammed into the side of Brielle's motorcycle. There had been so much force behind his vehicle that she had been knocked sideways onto his windshield and then thrown approximately twenty feet down the lane of the highway until she slid to a stop just short of her red Ducati.

Dimitri finally arrived with the car and Brooks opened the door to assist the young woman into the back seat. When the business owner climbed into the opposite side, the Russian man looked back to the brunette. "Will we be escorting you to your apartment this evening, Miss Ronaldi?"

"No, take me to the facility, please."

Brooks looked at the woman with a shocked expression. "Brielle, you're not going-"

"Dimitri, either drive me to the facility or kindly help me out of the car so I can walk. Please." The driver knew it was a request, but the events of the past 24 hours had left her pained and temperamental. He also knew that any hostility from her was sourced from their mutual employer, and that she was more than willing to follow through with her threat if need be.

"As you wish, Miss Rinaldi."

"And just how do you expect to get home from there?" Brielle rolled her eyes beneath the bruising on her face and she looked out the window in an attempt to remain calm with the man.

"I will stay in my lab for the evening. I have no need to go home right now. If for some reason I do need to make the trip, there's this glorious thing called Uber."


	6. 6

"Biiitch..." Brielle gave no reaction to the comment when the door to the lab slid open. She crutched her way around to her desk, and Ghost tilted his head to the side. "Youuu loook like shiiit..." when she reached her office chair, she switched off the music, leaned her crutches against the end of the desk and eased down into the chair before reclining as far as the seat would let her and closed her eyes. An annoyed growl left the vat, and she rolled her head exasperatedly to the side, her grey eyes glaring at the creature with all the patience she could muster.

"Well you're not exactly a runway model yourself, shit-nugget!" The creature tilted his head to the side in curiosity and Brielle returned to her previous position. "A truck hit me on the highway. I'm supposed to be in the hospital right now, but I figured you were getting tired of the same list repeating over and over again." A familiar clicking sound filled the room but she tried to ignore it. It felt like an eternity passed before sleep overcame her aching body, the deafening silence pounding inside her head.

————————————————————————

The ringing of her office phone pulled her out of a groggy, drug induced unconsciousness and she lazily placed the receiver against her face. "H-hello?" Silence was her answer. "Hello..!" Her tone was more harsh because the reality of being woken up was beginning to set in alongside the pain and stiffness that was stemming from her leg.

"I have your meds, Brielle."

"Who is this?" The irritation didn't waver.

"Gregory Brooks. I'm trying to enter your office, but your door locks aren't responding."

"Because you're not authorized."

"I own the company. The only way I wouldn't be authorized would be if _someone_ were to hack into the systems and override the administrator accesses." Hearing this seemed to make the woman more aware, and suddenly her heart rate spiked.

"Oh, uh, someone should definitely...your systems must be...hold on, I'll come to the door." She quickly placed the receiver back down and took a few deep breaths to calm herself as she reached for her crutches and forced her body out of the chair. She barely managed the action without crying out from the immense pain. It wasn't just in her leg anymore, it had spread through her entire body.

As she hobbled toward the door, Project Ghost watched as Brielle made her way around the desk to disable the locking mechanism which in turn allowed the CEO access to the room. The being let out a threatening growl but this time Gregory only looked at him before handing the woman a small, white paper bag and a grocery sack. "Two pain killers, one muscle relaxer, one nausea medicine. Don't take them on an empty stomach, because you'll definitely be doubled over a toilet. I went ahead and brought you a chicken sandwich, some fruit, and two bottles of water. I figured you'd be needing the meds by now, and you won't need to get up as much through the night to get something to drink."

"Thanks. You didn't have to do all of this. You didn't even have to get the prescriptions."

"We both know I had to." A heavy silence fell between them, and Brooks turned to leave. "My mother has you in her prayers. She also said if you don't rest like you're supposed to, she'll come up here and make you wish the truck had done a better job at killing you."

Brielle laughed before cringing in pain. "Tell her I said 'hi' and 'thanks'." Brooks nodded and walked down the hallway to leave. As Brielle stepped back inside the room, she tossed the medicine and food items onto her desk and made her way towards the bathroom extension of the lab. She noticed Project Ghost watching her as she went, and she arched a brow in curiosity. "What?"

"You are mates..." She couldn't tell if the phrase had been a question or a statement, but she did notice that the words had not been as botched as before.

"We're not. His mother wanted us to be in a relationship, but it didn't get far. Now it's just an awkward work environment and his mother still makes him be nice to me." A devilish smile crossed her tired features as she stopped next to the cryogenic tank for a moment. "Of the two of us, I'm her favorite. And she always makes a point to remind him of it." Rapid clicking echoed from within the tank; it almost sounded similar to a giggle or chuckle. "I'll be right back, Ghost." She crutched the rest of the way to the bathroom and returned nearly ten minutes later.

"O'kaor." She looked at him in confusion as she eased back into her office chair before opening the sack of medicine and placing the various bottles on her desk.

"What was that?"

"O'kaor. It is my name." Her grey eyes widened in shocked surprise as she took in this information. "You will not be able to pronounce it in your tongue."

"O'k-... O'kore?"

"No."

"O'kroe..?"

"No."

Brielle pursed her lips as she opened the first bottle of medication and took the prescribed dosage with a large gulp of water. "O'krie-oar."

"Stop."

"I'll figure it out at some point. Until then, what can I call you?" Silence was her answer. "How about Jeff?"

"No."

"Maurice?"

"I will rip out your spine from your oral cavity."

"Don't threaten me with a good time, Bob." A low growl echoed through the room and the woman fought the urge to laugh. "I don't like calling you 'Project'. How about we stick with 'Ghost' for right now. We can think of something better later on." He cocked his head to the side at her phrasing, and she took the second pill with another sip of water before taking a few bites of diced watermelon. "It's late, I'm tired, and if I'm lucky these pills will knock me out soon."

"You will return to your dwelling?"

Brielle shook her head before taking the third and fourth pills and unwrapped the chicken sandwich. "No, I'm going to stay here for a few days. I always keep spare clothes, and there's a pullout mattress on the far wall. I don't have a mode of transportation right now and don't care enough to pay someone to drive me around." The usual clicking sound filled the air, and Brielle took a few bites of the sandwich as she slowly outstretched her free-moving leg. "I usually spend more time here than I do at my house, anyway. I feel like I live here as it is."


	7. 7

_"Shift leader, I have eyes on the buyer."_

_"Acknowledged. As soon as you have a clear route, deliver the package."_

_"Hard copy. Stand by." The sniper sat patiently on a rooftop as they watched a caravan of armed vehicles drive along a nearby roadway. "Shift leader, who introduced us to the buyer?"_

_"Our sister store. What's going on?"_

_Another second passed in silence. "They buyer isn't here. We got stood up."_

_"There's no way..!"_

_The sniper scanned the convoy with their scope again, then the nearby rooftops until a familiar glint reflected against the sunlight in the distance. "Looks like there's another delivery driver. We're leaving. Hear that, side driver?"_

_A third voice responded over the radio. "Copy that. Loading up the merchandise."_

_"Belay that, side driver. Delivery driver, you WILL deliver that package!"_

_"I don't deliver to the wrong customers, shift leader."_

_"Delivery driver, I'm coming back to the store." The glint adjusted on the rooftop just as the undercover soldier stepped into view. "Heading your way now."_

_The sniper fired one shot, the silencer effectively doing its job. The far off glint exploded into tiny shards as the opposing sniper fell limp against the rooftop. "Shift leader, go ahead and mark a delivery on my route."_

_"You delivered the package to the buyer?"_

_"Negative. I had a second buyer approach me discreetly. They're satisfied with the product." A heavy, irritated sigh filled the radio waves in response before the third voice spoke up again._

_"Thanks, delivery driver. I owe you a cold one."_

———————————————————————

A sharp, stabbing pain radiated through Brielle's leg, waking her from her dreams. She reached for one of the bottles of pain medicine and noticed from the corner of her eye that Ghost appeared to be sleeping. She hummed at the sight; she had come close to believing that sleep was not a required function for his species.

Once she took the prescribed dosage, Brielle forced herself to a standing position and gathered her crutches beneath her arms. She carefully and quietly (or as quietly as she was currently able) hobbled her way across the lab towards the bathroom. She looked at the shower area and frowned. She knew she needed one, but she wasn't looking forward to the experience. She would need to wrap a large garbage bag around her leg to protect her cast from the water, and she would have to maneuver around the crutches to wash her hair and body; hopefully without falling in the process.

A rapid beeping pulled her attention to the monitors on the cryogenic tank. She frowned again and made her way to the main portion of the lab before turning to meet the heated gaze of the alien. His amber eyes seemed to glow dimly in the darkness and it sent a chill through her body. She glanced at his vital readings and noticed his heart rate was extremely elevated compared to its normal rhythms. "What's wrong?" Ghost remained silent as they watched one another, and the monitor began to return to its previous steady beeps. "This thing must be screwed up...I'll run diagnostics on the system in the morning." Again the creature said nothing, and Brielle continued on her journey to the bathroom.

Sealing the door behind her, she hobbled toward the shower and removed her clothes before leaning awkwardly forward to turn on the water. Once it was at a comfortable temperature, she stood upright and carefully sat on the floor before she scooted just close enough to the stream that the water covered all of her body except for her injured leg.

She wasn't sure how long she sat there, but once the water began to run cold she carefully stood up and leaned forward once more to shut off the water flow. She then retrieved a towel from a nearby cabinet and dried off before gathering a pair of blue underwear, black basketball shorts, and a white tee shirt that was one size too large. Brielle was careful to put on the clothes, but once she was dressed she crutches back into the main area only to hear Ghost's growling voice coming from the cryo-tank.

"Your mate is inadequate, female." She frowned at the term, but decided it was better than being referred to as 'bitch' every time she entered the room. "It would be unwise to bear his offspring."

"He's not my mate, and he's infertile."

"It is for the betterment of your species, I assure you." She forced back a chuckle as she moved to sit in her office chair and began to snack on the chicken sandwich as she checked her email. "You are a soldier." Again she couldn't tell if the phrase was a statement or a question, but she took it as the latter.

"I was, but my superiors had me forcibly retired." Ghost tilted his head to the side as he sometimes did when he seemed confused. "I did my job a little too well, and I outperformed a lot of the men. The higher-ups didn't like the friction it caused, so they claimed that my work was beginning to affect my mental health. I was honorably discharged and they refused to reassign me...so I took this job instead."

"The males of your species do not appreciate female influence?"

"Some do...but some feel like their masculinity is threatened if a woman does their job better than they do, or if a woman is placed in a position of leadership over them."

"On my planet the females are revered, and to have a female as a warrior is a greater show of strength for our race."

Brielle let slip a bemused chuckle as she took a sip of water. "Must be nice. Hey, if the day ever comes that I can break you out of this place, you gotta take me back to your planet. Deal?"

"You would be killed on sight. You are not a blooded member of the clan. That makes you prey."

"I thought you said women are revered among your people?"

"Females and pups are not to be harmed unless a sufficient threat is determined. If you place yourself in the position of an opposing warrior, you will be treated as such." Brielle hummed thoughtfully for a moment before she frowned to herself.

"Yeah, knowing me, I'd piss someone off and they'd have me killed or something...you still gotta take me though. Because if I die by the hands of aliens, at least I'll cross off two things on my bucket list."


	8. 8

It had been weeks since the motorcycle crash, and Brielle was slowly making progress in both her healing and her research. She had nearly weened herself off of the painkillers altogether, and Ghost watched as she hobbled without crutches around the room, the brace on her leg still complicating the most basic movements. The summer temperatures continued to climb, as did the temperature of the lab. The creature seemed to react better in hotter environments, so Brielle tried to accommodate as much as she could.

She had resorted to stripping down to her white lace bralette and matching underwear as even tank-tops and shorts were proving to be too excessive in the heat. The woman place a "Knock Before Entry" sign on the outside of her door, but so far she had no visitors.

She was placing various scientific instruments out around the exam table and cast an expressionless glance over her shoulder at the extraterrestrial being. "Remember our deal?" A familiar trill of clicks was her answer, and she looked back to the equipment before her. "Are you ready?" Another trill, and she hobbled over to the laptop and turned the music up to full volume. Despite having the sign on the outer portion of the door, Brielle overrode the administrative locks on the door so that no one would be able to enter the lab.

When she was sure of their privacy, she limped across the room to the tank while Ghost tracked her every movement with his amber eyes. She typed in a system override code on the tanks control panel and a dull whirring sound erupted from above the creature. His eyes never left the human as she continued to move her fingers along the panel until finally the seal on the top of the containment system retracted and Ghost turned his piercing eyes to the ceiling.

Ghost reached a clawed hand out of the water and grabbed hold of the edge of the reinforced glass before doing the same with his free hand and slowly lifted his body out of the thick liquid. He climbed with the ease and grace of a dancer spinning through a sultry ballet, and the silent stealth of a lion stalking its prey.

Moving his legs over the edge, he carefully and silently dropped to the floor below. Ghost turned to face the exit but was met with the female's fiery gaze. He matched her eyes for a moment, staring down at her as his mandibles flared in a show of intimidation, but she didn't move. His tusked mandibles flicked lightly through the air as he tasted the various scents around him. He could smell the fruit salad on her desk...the pungent floral odor of the air freshener in the far corner...the salty sweat that coated her scarred and bruised skin...but he smelled no fear from the woman. There was a strangely sweet aroma, but none of the putrid stench of terror that he had become so accustomed to when the others came near.

Brielle couldn't move. Her feet were glued to the floor; her body felt heavy as cement. She could only crane her neck as watch as her stepped closer. His stature was shocking when he could stand to his full height, and she was impressed. At best the top of her head was level with the upper portion of his abdomen. Nearly eight feet tall, she guessed. She was sorry to admit that she hadn't paid all that much attention to his physical attributes when she was looking at his charts; she was solely interested in his vital statistics.

Yet here stood this Goliath of an alien with dreadlocks hanging nearly below his shoulder blades, muscles out the wazoo, and a reproductive unit that would make the most "blessed" porn star blush in embarrassment. Normal protocol would dictate that she run for her life, that she scream and try to fight it away, maybe even pee a little...but she stood silent and motionless as he did. The scientist in her mind took control of her body, and she felt pure amazement at the sight before her.

Ghost tilted his head to the side as he often did when he watched her, his eyes narrowing as he clicked softly. Was he analyzing her, or was he deciding how best to kill and eat her? More amazement flooded the human's senses as she stared him down.

After what felt like an eternity but was more accurately 5-7 seconds, Ghost sidestepped the female and moved to lay on his back atop the metallic exam table. Once he was in place, Brielle turned and moved to the platform and strapped his ankles into the restraints before doing the same with his wrists. She could feel the heat radiating from his leathery skin as she locked the restraints into place. "Are they too tight?" She was met with silence and looked up from his left wrist to see that the creature was once again watching her with those fascinating amber eyes.

Brielle turned and gathered various sizes of electrodes and began attaching them to his temples, chest, abs, and sides before a monitor on the far wall registered his breathing patterns, blood pressure, heart rate, and brainwave activity. Steady, rhythmic beeps chimes out every few seconds to announce each powerful thump of his heart.

"I'm going to take some X-ray scans of your skeletal structure." She retrieved a led-lined blanket from the side and draped it over Ghost's torso. "This will protect your body from the radiation. Just bear with it for a few moments, and I'll be done soon. You just need to lay still." Again she was met with the sounds of hypothetical crickets, but she disregarded the one-sided conversation.

Instead she focused on the blaring music that would overpower any noise that may try to escape through the sealed doorway. Most of the facility workers were used to her obnoxiously loud tastes in music, but if anyone decided to question her methods as of late, she could say that she was conducting experiments on the asset in regards to how various fluctuations in sound may affect his mental activity. Now if only she could keep Brooks away after hours...


	9. 9

Brooks watched the footage from the hidden security camera in the lab, and was shocked as well as impressed to see the injured woman staring down this massive alien and then have the gall to strap it down herself. What would possess her to make such reckless decisions? Not to mention the unauthorized release of assets was a heinous action that could result in all kinds of legal trouble with the government.

He continued to watch the footage with the volume turned up despite the onslaught to his ears from the obscene metal "music" that was screaming through the speakers of his computer. He couldn't hear anything being said, but their movements were coordinated, like they had been planned ahead of time.

Brooks could see his former lover placing the electrode pads on the asset's naked body before taking X-ray images and moving on to observing the more drastic features of Project Ghost. She carefully but intently measured, diagramed, and chatted notes about its strange crablike facial appendages as well as the sharp teeth within the inner mouth. She did the same with the claws on its hands and feet, and even the dreadlock type appendages that protruded from its skull.

He watched as she carefully toweled spots of his body dry before inserting needles to take samples of various bodily fluids without so much as a threatening growl from the creature. All other attempts he had witnessed from facility staff had always resulted in some sort of injury or near-injury. But not with this woman. Brooks leaned back in his seat as he observed her continue her work as he interlocked his fingers beneath his chin. What has happened in the weeks prior when she refused to leave that damned lab? And why did the creature react so calmly to her as opposed to the other scientists?


	10. 10

_The human female had arrived earlier than usual and was finally able to move without the assistance of walking sticks. She entered the laboratory without voicing some type of obnoxious greeting and eased into the seat at her work station. She logged onto the device which had been producing slightly less frustrating music as of late, and she began to read some type of message displayed on the screen. She scrolled down, down, and then down some more until she reached the end of the message. "This isn't right...it has to be a joke..." the words had been soft, barely audible from across the room._

_She retrieved the communication device and pushed a series of buttons before placing the device to her ear. O'kaor watched curiously from his position in the tank as she read the message over and over as she began to raise her voice at whatever miserable human waste of space that had the unfortunate task of answering her call._

_"What is this bullshit?! I AM making progress! Because if I weren't, I wouldn't be working here! You can't do this! Gregory, this is my life's work..! Do you realize you're taking away the greatest opportunity that this facility has ever seen?! Do yourself a favor and go jump off a bridge! No, it's not a threat, it's a friendly suggestion..!" She slammed the receiver down to its original position and sat motionless for several minutes. When she finally did move, she turned to look at O'kaor with an unreadable expression gracing her features. "What would you agree to do to get some time outside of that vat, Ghost?"_

_———————————————————————_

Brielle limped slightly as she made her way through the facility nearly two hours later than usual. She had gone to have the brace and pins removed from her leg and was still adjusting to the ability of taking normal steps. As she ventured down the corridor towards her lab, she noticed a dozen armed guards standing around her doorway and the booming sound of an animalistic roar echoed throughout the building. Many of the guards aimed their weapons inside the lab, and Brielle did her best to run (or hobble) towards them.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?! You don't have permission to be in my lab!"

"They have permission, Miss Rinaldi." Brooks stepped out to greet her with a strange grin plastered on his face. "This asset is being removed from your custody."

"Brooks, what the hell are you doing?" She tried to look around his shoulder, even trying to stand on her tiptoes, but another soldier blocked her view into the room. "I got the results you wanted!"

"And now there's nothing else you can do for us. You will be escorted to the front desk where you will turn in your security pass, and you will be escorted from the premises."

"I won't! You can't fire me!" Shuffling inside the room, and a few guards barked out orders to one another. "What are they doing?" The guard blocking her view tried to usher her away from the door, but she pulled away from his gloved hand and attempted to sidestep him. She caught a glimpse of the scientist James trying to figure out how to unlock the tank, and her eyes grew wide. "Get away from there!" She managed to push past Gregory Brooks and the armed guard but was quickly grabbed by the wrists and held in place with her hands behind her back as she watched a team try to restrain Ghost with poles similar to what a dog catcher would use so they could drag him from the vat.

Ghost grabbed one pole and used it to fling his would-be captor across the room before pulling the metal stick into the fluid and snapped it like a twig. His mandibles flared as a threatening growl sounded throughout the room at the other guards and scientists. "Get away from it!" She kicked her restrainer in the kneecap with a sickening snap and he fell to the ground. She managed to get halfway across the room before she was thrown to the ground by three other guards and they tried to place her in handcuffs. "GET OFF OF ME!!"

An ear-piercing roar ripped through the air and echoed through the hallways as she continued to struggle against her co-workers. Somehow the team had managed to drag Ghost from the tank and were trying to restrain him on the ground as well, but his claws ripped through one man's throat and he snapped another's neck. "Unless you can prove useful to me in the next five seconds, Project Ghost will be transported to a remote government facility and lobotomized."

"I can sedate it!" Brooks narrowed his green eyes at the woman, scrutinizing her words. "Let me do it!"

"Sir, what are your orders?" In that moment one of the soldier's received a bloody lip from the force of Brielle's skull slamming against his face in the struggle.

"Let her up." Each of the guards currently struggling to restrain the woman looked at their boss in disbelief, but Brooks ignored their surprise. "Let's see if she can do it. In the event that she can't, we'll...I'm sure the asset will tie up the loose end for us." Reluctantly they released their hold on the woman and she pushed herself to stand, a thin layer of dirt from the countless unwelcome shoes stomping across the floor coating her white tank top and black denim shorts.

Everyone watched silent and motionless as she stepped toward the creature that was standing beside the tank and looking ready for a fight. She eased closer until she was about five feet from the massive alien. O'kaor narrowed his amber eyes at the female as his mandibles flicked through the air. The entire room wreaked of fear, but this female seemed calm as always.

"Ghost, get on the table..." he didn't move. "You're getting to leave the lab. Aren't you sick of being stuck in here?" Again, no response. "If you get on the table, I can give you something to help you sleep so you don't have to listen to their bullshit anymore." She cast an accusatory glance over her shoulder toward Brooks, but he simply watched with his arms folded over his chest. "There won't be a fight, and they won't hurt you." That was a lie, and she could tell that the creature knew. His beady eyes narrowed into slits and a low growl rumbled through his chest. "Just get on the table, Ghost. You can trust me. You'll be safe. Just let me give you the injection." Another lie, and they stared one another down for several seconds.

At last O'kaor slowly stepped around the female and moved to stand alongside the exam table before staring at her once more. She waited, and he sat on the metal slab before adjusting his position and lying on his back. Brielle outstretched her hand to James who offered her a syringe full of various tranquilizers. A soldier moved as if he were reaching for the restraints on the table but stopped when Brielle glared at him.

"You stay the hell away. This is my job, do you understand?" The man did as he was told and stepped back against a nearby wall. Brielle moved to stand behind Ghost's head as the creature's eyes tracked her every movement. Carefully, she brushed the dread-like tendrils away from his neck and shoulder with her fingers and raised the needle to a vein at the base of his neck. Brielle eased every bit of the solution out of the syringe and placed the object on the table beside his shoulder. She waited, taking the time to analyze the intricate features of his facial structure.

Her fingertips delicately brushed against the short spines along the side of his face, and his mandibles flexed slowly as a soft clicking sound filled the room. Within minutes Ghost's eyelids closed and his chest rose and fell with each heavy breath. Brielle remained in her spot until Brooks was sure enough about the creature's unconscious state to order the guards to wheel the asset to the loading dock for transport. They didn't bother with the restraints because the amount of tranquilizers used was enough to kill an elephant, and there was no doubt the creature would be out cold for the next several hours.

One of the guards pushed her to the side as they carted the alien away, and she watched helplessly as they rushed out of the lab. Within moments Brooks was the only one that remained, and he offered a prideful grin before gesturing around the room with both hands. "How long did you honestly believe you could keep this up, Bri?" She looked up at the suited man and watched as beads of sweat rolled down his face from the excessive heat of the room. "They aren't your pets. They're assets. Just freaks that serve a scientific purpose until the government pays enough money to fund a small country, and then they're hauled away."

"You disgust me."

Brooks snickered at the remark before backing out of the room. "It's not like the movies, Bri. You can't have some sort of sick romanticized connection with these things. You had your chance at something good, and you threw it away. I could have made you happy. Now look at you: sad, alone, out of a job, and covered in sweat."

He left her then, and he followed the same path that the creature had been taken down to get to the loading docks. He would see this thing through. He would have one last taste of victory against the woman if it was the last thing he did.


	11. 11

_"If this is a banquet for successful business owners, I don't see why I have to go." Gregory gave a deep exhale and helped the woman out of the Porsche before closing the door behind her and they walked arm-in-arm along the sidewalk to the event center. Many dignified multi-millionaires were making their way through the double doors, and Brielle clutched her handbag a little tighter. It was embarrassing enough having to wear a dress, let alone such a brightly colored and revealing one. "I feel like that prostitute from Pretty Woman..."_

_"Well you shouldn't, because you don't have sex with me. You only take my money."_

_"It's called a paycheck." Another exhale from the man, and Brielle tugged at the slit in the red fabric that expanded the length of her leg to her hip, hoping that if she pulled at it enough that the fabric would meld together and shield her exposed skin. "It still doesn't explain why I have to be here."_

_"Because I want company and you're the only person I can stand to be around for more than a few minutes at a time."_

_"I hope you realize that's an idiotic excuse."_

_"You could accept my offer and make it a legitimate excuse."_

_"We aren't good as a couple, Gregory. We've talked about this." They stopped a few yards away from the entrance and Brooks turned to look at the woman._

_"Because we can't have kids? Brielle, we could adopt if you're so set on the idea!"_

_"It's not about that and you know it."_

_"Well if you're trying to find someone who meets the criteria of some asinine list, you're never going to be happy. Now you're going to go in there, we're going to get along, and you are going to make civil conversation with human beings..!"_

_"I'd much prefer the assets. They at least won't ramble incessantly about the stock value of their new buy-out, or try to one-up each other on charity donations for some irrelevant topic."_

_Brooks rolled his eyes and led his guest into the event center and upstairs to the vast banquet hall. Almost immediately he engaged in conversations regarding stocks and donations, and Brielle opted to look for the open bar that had been the only upside to her being there._

_No later than she received her drink did an older gentleman of about 55 years of age approach her and begin asking questions. His name was Gerard Butler, and he was the founder of the number one medical technology producer._

_"So what company does a pretty thing like you run?"_

_"I'm head of the science division at the G.L. Brooks Association."_

_"So you're a cosmologist?"_

_A forced grin made it's way across her painted lips as she took another sip of her drink. "Of sorts."_

_"Who did you come with if you weren't on the guest list?"_

_"Mister Brooks asked me to accompany him. I like to people-watch, and he enjoys lengthy conversations. I theorized it would be a mutually beneficial arrangement."_

_"Scientists and their theories...well if you're ever in the market for OTHER arrangements, just give me a call." Mister Butler handed the young woman a business card which she took and examined. "I'll pay double what he offers."_

————————————————————————

_"I can't believe you actually turned to Gerard Butler as a sugar daddy!"_

_"I didn't!"_

_"You took his card, so you might as well have!"_

_"You take business cards all the time!"_

_"Because I run a BUSINESS!!" Brielle stood in-front of the doorway of Gregory's office with her fingers pinching the bridge of her nose. "Why do you decline my offer of a formal relationship just to turn around and offer regular sex for money?!"_

_"I DIDN'T OFFER HIM ANYTHING!"_

_"ANSWER MY QUESTION!"_

_Brielle stormed forward and slammed her palms on the desk and lowered her face mere inches from his own. "Because you're an ASSHOLE! You act like you have a stick up your ass and treat everyone like they're not worthy to lick the dirt off of the bottom of your shoes! The assets that come into this facility, you act like they're just that! You refuse to accept that these are living creatures! That we could learn from them!"_

_"Is that what this is about?! Those monsters that you treat like pets?!" Brielle said nothing, only stared at him with fire blazing in her grey eyes. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't even know those things existed! You owe me, Brielle!"_


	12. 12

The group was nearly to the loading dock when the sound of gunfire rang throughout the facility and everyone paused to hurriedly decide their course of action. Normally in an intruder drill, everyone was supposed to retreat to the nearest room and lock themselves in until security could take out the assailant...but during the drills they weren't carting around a nearly 8-foot tall murderous alien that was expected to recover from an unholy amount of catatonic drugs within the hour.

Just as one guard reached to latch a restraint on the creature's arm, the asset's eyes opened wide and he slashed the human's neck open like a hot knife through soft butter. The men cried out as O'kaor sprang to his feet and threw two men easily against the wall and knocked them unconscious. The others tried to call for backup on their radios while they opened fire with their assault rifles but the bullets had little effect on O'kaor's thick hide; something that Brielle had made a point not to mention in her analysis reports.

One soldier dropped his weapon as he promptly announced "fuck that" and they all turned to retreat, but O'kaor took chase and made short work of them by caving in their fragile skulls with his fist, slicing their bellies open with his clawed fingers to gut them like fish, and even ripping one's skull clean off its shoulders and taking the spine with it. He discarded the would-be trophy on the ground because these were not worthy opponents; they did not deserve to be displayed alongside the reminders of his other victories.

It wasn't long before Brooks arrived at the gory scene, and O'kaor flared his mandibles wide as he took a threatening step towards the human. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's not just some mimicry trick, is it?" A deep growl resonated from O'kaor's chest, and Brooks struggled to keep his eyes above the creatures waistline. He had to admit that for a primitive barbarian race, whatever Project Ghost was, it was nothing if not endowed. "I don't know what kind of soap opera, inter species bullshit idea Doctor Rinaldi has brewing in that twisted little head of hers, but what I do know is that you killed one of our teams. That makes you a security threat, and you have to be euthanized."

"Cuuunt...waaaffle..." Brooke's eyes narrowed at the insult, but O'kaor let loose a deep, demonic chuckle. The female had often said that phrase when she would talk to herself about the pathetic human male. "Bluuue piiill popperrr..." Brooks drew a gun from beneath his suit jacket but O'kaor closed the distance between them and had the man's forearm in a crushing grip before he could take aim. The man's hand gave out and the weapon fell to the floor at his feet as he stared in shock at the amber eyes that were overflowing with pent up rage and aggression. **_"Tarei hsan."_**

"W-what..?"

Brooks trembled as the creature pulled him nearer, putting their faces mere inches apart despite the grave difference in height. "You are unworthy, Ooman." O'kaor snapped the man's arm so forcefully that the bone broke through skin and blood began to pool on the metallic floor below. Screams filled the corridor as tears began to streak Gregory's cheeks, the taste of vomit creeping into the back of his throat.


	13. 13

Rapid fire shots ripped through the air like razors through sheets of paper. Used bullet casings fell to the ground with a metallic clinking sound, the smell of gunpowder swirling through the air. One soldier ducked around the corner while the other lay prone behind the corpse of his fallen comrade. Brielle advanced on their position, holding them down with well-placed shots.

"Ronaldi, what do you think you're doing?!" She fired another round at the one peering from behind the wall and he quickly ducked back into his hiding spot. The prone soldier perked up to return fire but received a bullet between the eyes instead. As his body fell limp atop his meat-shield, Brielle stepped up to his body and retrieved an item from his duty belt. "C'mon doc, we're just following orders! You know that!" Silence was his answer, not even so much as a gunshot. Just as he went to call for backup over the radio, a metallic clinking sound brought his attention to the floor approximately 3 feet from his position. "Fuck me..."

The grenade exploded like a fireball and sent heated shrapnel ripping through his skin and armor. His body was thrown further down the hallway until it collapsed into a puddle of its own crimson blood.

The brunette rounded the corner some seconds later donning the previous opponent's rifle, sidearm, and reserve ammunition. "I told you to leave, Jenkins." She kicked his broken body as she stepped over him, continuing on her trek through the facility.

It didn't take long to make it to the loading dock, especially when she began to follow the trail of dead bodies, many of which had been disembowled, necks slashed, or had the skulls and spines detached from the shoulders. The entire building was beginning to wreak of death and the metallic stench of blood was heavy in the air.

Chill bumps erupted from her skin as a ferocious roar made its way to her ears and chilled her very bones. She hastened into a steady jog, careful to mind her still-painful leg. Her heartbeat quickened to aid the surge of adrenaline but it quickly fell to her stomach when she came around the corner to see Project Ghost standing over the broken, bloodied corpse of Gregory Brooks.

The creature's beady amber eyes met her own grey ones, and another chill washed over her body, followed quickly by a heavy warmth. His head tilted to the side, his mandibles flicking slowly through the air as a soft trill of clicks left his throat. She gave a slight grin before lifting up the rock n' roll symbol and announced "special ops, motherfucker..!"


	14. 14

_"It's done."_

_"Very good. I'm sending your finders fee now." A moment of silence fell over the line, and Brielle packed her sniper rifle into the metallic suitcase. "If we're being honest, I was uneasy about renting your services, but your contact was very...insistent."_

_A notification chimed on the burn phone notifying the woman of the completed financial transfer. "Have a good evening, Mister Brooks."_

_"Hold on...! Before you go, may I have your name, sir?" Her grey eyes narrowed. She couldn't blame him for the assumption; the voice changer did add a lot of bass to her voice, and even through the robotic interference it was easy enough to assume the person on the other end of the call was a male._

_"I don't disclose personal information, Mister Brooks."_

_"Well do you provide security provisions?" More silence. "A snake without a head can still bite, you know?"_

_"Babysitting costs extra."_

_"As you can tell by the state of your account, finance is not an issue." Brielle considered the request for a long moment. "I'll pay triple your usual price. I want the best babysitter you can provide."_

_Another moment passed over the line and Brielle bit her bottom lip as she absorbed the statement. "We will send a live-in nanny within the week."_

_"Will I be notified as to who they are?"_

_"No personal information, Mister Brooks."_

_"Right, right. My apologies. Thank you again for your services. Have a lovely evening." Brielle ended the call and let loose a heavy exhale. She had been working for the G.L. Brooks Foundation for little more than a year when the owner mentioned in passing that he had a problem with a longtime rival that he wished he could 'just get rid of'. Apparently the situation had spiraled out of control in recent months and the aggressor was now making threats on Brooks's life._

_Brielle had mentioned a 'gardening service' that would pull out any 'weeds' from the flower bed. Naturally Brooks cringed at the mention of a hitman, but a few drinks later and a few hours of convincing had left him in agreement. She provided him with the number to the burn phone and he called to talk about a potential gardener that very night. The voice changer worked like a charm, and he sent the 200 thousand dollar down deposit before the initial discussion had even ended._

_Now that the job was done, another 400 thousand had just been deposited into the encrypted account. And here he was offering triple that for a secret body guard. Little did he know that no one would be sent that week, because the agent was already there. She would be the “nanny” he so requested, and she would be that much deeper into his pocketbook._


	15. 15

Brielle and O'kaor paused at the sound of thumping footfalls and stepped behind cover just as a team of guards was jogging down the adjoining corridor with weapons drawn. The woman activated a nearby control panel and the reinforced, metallic door slid open. The two escapees ducked inside and the door sealed behind them.

O'kaor tasted a familiar stench in the air and he turned to search for the source. His eyes widened when they fell on a cryogenic tank much like the one he had been held captive in, only this one contained a dark serpentine creature with no eyes. A sharp, jagged spike tipped its tail, and it hissed a vile sound. A low growl rose from his throat and Brielle turned to follow his gaze. "What are you doing?"

"That creature needs to be destroyed."

"What?!" If she could have yelled she would have. For now however in their current situation, a whisper yell would suffice. "Are you insane?!"

"Possibly by _**pyode-amedha**_ standards."

"We are not killing it!"

"Then it will kill your entire race."

Brielle's grey eyes widened slightly. "You know this thing..?" No response. "Fine...how do we kill it?"

"I have a device in my armor." She looked at him in a way that requested more information. "It will destroy everything within a twenty mile radius."

"You have a fucking _bomb_ in your gear?! Who just...carries around a _bomb_?!"

"Survivors." Brielle was dumbfounded at his belief that he was stating the obvious. "This is why your race is short-lived."

The creature in the tank let loose a shrill, head-splitting screech as it's inner set of jaws shot out of its mouth and bit at the reinforced glass. "It has nothing to do with how long we live! And you would destroy my life's work!"

"What use is your work if you are dead?" The woman pinched the bridge of her nose as she inhaled deeply. The sound of running soldiers finally faded into the distance and Brielle placed her ear against the door. "Try to do it yourself."

"Excuse you?"

"If you wish to avoid unnecessary collateral damage, you may try to destroy it yourself."

"I'm not _touching_ that thing. It has _acid_ for blood. I might be crazy, but I'm not an idiot."

"Have you learned of its reproductive methods?" Brielle looked at him as if to imply that it was no surprise that a male of any species would turn a conversation from bombs, to gebocide, and then to sex. "The kiande-amedha lay eggs. The eggs hatch and the embryos attach to your face, constrict your airway to force your mouth open, and force their body down your throat to place _that_ ," he gestured to the cryogenic vat behind them, "into your chest cavity. From there they grow, and when they are large enough they force their way out of your body through your bones and flesh."

"Sounds delightful."

"You do not survive. This is why we carry the devices that you do not."

Brielle activated the door panel and stepped into the corridor once more. "Okay, so we blow it up. Then what, we run?"

"You may, but you will perish. I will escape before the detonation." The woman rolled her eyes and waved a dismissive hand.

"Semantics. Come on, we need to move."

"I require my armor."

"What, are you not comfortable with all the 'Oomans' seeing you naked?"

"My armor holds the device."

"And what if we can't make it to your precious armor?"

"Your race will be destroyed by the _**kiande-amedha**_." The woman groaned as she turned on her heel and led O'kaor back the other way.

"I don't see why we can't go back to the good old days where it was survival of the fittest. Now you have to have 'honor' and 'morals'...and 'compassion for the human race'."

"I will destroy them myself if you wish otherwise."

"No, no, it's fine. We'll just save the world and then let natural selection weed out the undesirables in the future."


	16. 16

As O'kaor equipped himself with the metal breastplate, shoulder pads, thigh shields, boots, gauntlets, and finally the 'mask of mystery' as the scientists had jokingly referred to it, Brielle searched the bodies of the fallen guards that had survived less than a minute against the odd pair. She retrieved a handgun that was equipped with a silencer, the extra magazines, and extra clips for the assault rifle.

The woman risked a curious peek at the Yautja warrior as he fiddled with the device on his arm; surprisingly enough, he looked more intimidating now than he had when he was first brought to her lab in nothing more than the metallic loincloth. His face and eyes had made her a little uneasy at first, but now the sight of him in all his extraterrestrial glory sent an uncomfortable chill through her body. Her nerves told her to run, but she fought to ignore them. The scientist in her wanted to examine everything from a closer prospective, but she decided that wasn't the best option now that Ghost had ready access to who knows what kind of weapons.

She thought back to the first day she'd bartered with the massive alien; she had traded a few hours outside of the tank for several diagnostic and brain scans. She had kept his arms and legs shackled for precaution, but once she was somewhat confident in her ability to negotiate with the creature, she allowed him to simply lay there just as he was, the only time he was restrained being the times that others would come to the lab. 'If I die, then I die,' she had said, 'that's how it works. You live for a time, and then you die.'

"Now you can set the bomb and we can get the hell out of here." O'kaor said nothing as Brielle strapped the last of the ammo to her body. "Then what?"

"I will go to my ship."

"Oh..." The woman paused as she turned her grey eyes toward the alien as he swiped and tapped some controls on his gauntlet. "You'll go back to your planet...that's good." She couldn't have hidden the lackluster disappointment if she'd tried. "That's really good." A trill of clicks escaped O'kaor's throat as he focused on his task. A few seconds later he removed a brick-shaped portion of metal from the gauntlet and tossed it in a corner of the lab before turning on his heel and running out of the room past Brielle. Her grey eyes went wide as she did a double take, the high-pitched beeping reaching her ears. "Did you do it..?" She turned to run after O'kaor with the assault rifle in hand. "You did it and you didn't fucking warn me?!"

The two sprinted through the maze of hallways as they made their way to the exit. When they finally reached open air, they witnessed a grotesque scene that seemed handpicked from a bloody horror movie. The compound was littered with mangled bodies lying in pools of crimson, a few heads and spines laying separate from their bodies, and an unholy amount of steaming entrails scattered about the rain-sprinkled ground.

O'kaor paused in the threshold as he scanned the area with his bio-mask and took a defensive stance when he detected a life signal in the southwestern corner. A soldier, barely alive, was trying to drag himself to cover. His legs were broken beyond repair and a trail of blood followed him as he moved.

"Oh my God..." Brielle covered her nose to soften the stench of death as O’kaor returned to a relaxed stance. “What could have done this..?"

"T'ahrou."

"What's a T'ahrou?" A spear shot through the air and pierced the soldier's skull before embedding in the ground below. His body fell limp against the metallic weapon and Brielle jumped slightly at the sudden attack, scanning the surrounding area with her rifle. "What the fuck was that?!"

A heavy thud resounded just behind the escapees and they both turned to face another creature. It closely resembled O'kaor, but was larger and had darker markings throughout its body. It's mask and armor differed in appearance from his, and the dreadlock appendages protruding from its head were longer. Brielle trained her sights on it, only to have the barrel of the gun sliced off before her eyes. The metal fell to the bloody ground and Brielle's grey eyes searched for the source of the damage. Nothing immediately stood out to her attention aside from the dual blades attached to the beings gauntlet.

The larger being growled low in its chest and O'kaor responded with a long trail of clicks. Before he could finish what the human could only assume was his answer, a guttural roar sounded from nearly five feet to her right. O'kaor faced the direction of the sound and led off with more clicking sounds, but another roar was his answer. It was a strange sound; very similar to his own, but a higher pitch and more gravely.

"Ghost, how many are there?"

"That is not important."

"If these things want to kill me, I'd say it's pretty fucking important..!"

"If they wished you dead you would be already."

A low growl came from the invisible creature, and O'kaor responded with a nod. Brielle was shocked to witness the creature deactivate its cloaking shield (though she had been expecting as much), and was surprised to see that this one was much smaller than the other two. It stood only an inch taller than herself, and it's dreadlocks were different. They seemed softer, almost like human hair. It had no claws but rather sharpened fingernails, and it's armor was more revealing, clearly displaying its excessive cleavage.

"Ghost..?"

"Dhadtoudi will not kill you."

"What's a Dhadtoudi..?!"

"Dhadtoudi is pyode-amedha. She is like you."

The creature let loose another low growl as it took a threatening step toward Brielle.

"Your eyes..." its words were soft but filled with anger, "Who are you? Where do you come from?"

"B-Brielle Ronaldi from Sacramento, California. Nice to meet you." Brielle mustered up whatever courage she held within herself and offered her hand in greeting.

The smaller creature slowly looked down at her hand, back up to her face, and then turned its attention to Ghost. "You teach your Ooman this disrespect, O'kaor?"

"This is not my doing, Dhadtoudi."

"Yet you do not teach it better?" The smaller creature turned its masked gaze back to the human but continued on its lecture of the escaped being. "Consider yourself fortunate that I do not kill it where it stands. I am not so foolish to expect a pup to know to walk from the moment it is born."

"Did...did you just call me a baby?"

"I called you a disrespectful fool." The largest creature placed itself between Brielle and the smaller being, placing his clawed hands on Dhadtoudi's shoulders and separating her from the rest of the group. The female let loose a series of loud clicks and growls, but the larger responded with much softer clicks. The sound was almost soothing in a way.

"Yautja have nothing if not for their honor and pride." Brielle looked to Ghost now, and he motioned with a tilt of his head for her to follow. "Come. Time is short."


	17. 17

"YOU WEAR MINIATURE ATOM BOMBS LIKE BRACELETS?! WHO DOES THAT?!"

"Survivors." Brielle squeezed her eyes shut as she struggled to catch her breath. The group had been able to make it through the makeshift security perimeter in the woods and seek shelter in the cargo hold of the ship just moments before the shockwave reached them. "Do you understand now?"

"No, Ghost! I don't understand! Is your entire species comprised of lunatics, or is that trait limited to you stooges?!"

The small one approached Brielle faster than she would have liked and stood merely an inch from her face. "You will learn your place, Ooman! You will not speak so freely to a Blooded Warrior!"

"What does that even mean?!"

Ghost stepped forward now, inserting himself between the smaller beings. "A Blooded Warrior is one who has proved themselves in the eyes of the clan. They must defeat many enemies in the chiva to receive the mark of the clan and be considered a true warrior."

"So it's like a right of passage kind of thing?" He nodded once. Brielle hummed thoughtfully as she processed the information. "And you're one of them?" Another nod. So what about this one?" She jabbed her thumb through the air at the smallest of the three creatures.

"T'ahrou and Dhadtoudi each received their marks before I was accepted for the chiva."

"Is that why she has such a stick up her ass?"

The one known as Dhadtoudi attempted to sidestep Ghost, but he stayed between them. "You dare insult me, Ooman?!"

"It's not an insult, it's an honest question!"

"Perhaps you should hold your tongue before I cut it from your throat!" Ghost trilled a line of clicks and the one known as Dhadtoudi growled demonically. The other, T'ahrou, simply fiddled with the controls of the spaceship.

———————————————————————

When the small creature had finally settled down, T'ahrou informed Ghost that the drive core of the ship was badly damaged, and the machine would not be able to make the flight. "So what's that mean?" Brielle asked when Ghost translated the diagnostic.

"My ship will be destroyed. I will return with the others."

"So you won't leave anything behind? It'll be like you never existed..."

"That is the goal."

Brielle was silent for a long moment before pushing herself up from the sitting position against the wall and turned to meet the gaze of the creature that had started all of this. "I guess...I'm ready to leave whenever you can open the door."

"Soon. We must transfer the cargo to the other ship." The woman was confused as to why she would have to wait for that to be able to leave, but if waiting allowed her to extend her extraterrestrial experience, then by God she would wait.

Between the three humanoids, it took nearly an hour and a half to move all of the supplies from one spot to the other, and Brielle took the time to observe them as they moved. Although the three of them each had exceptional muscle mass, the males seemed to have more muscle groups than the female. Her form was more curved around the shoulders, waist, hips, and thighs. The muscle groups appeared somewhat similar to that of a humans, though there was clear toning and definition in muscles that Brielle had never seen in a human before.

Ghost and T'ahrou had long since removed their bio-masks to reveal their tusked mandible appendages on their faces, but the female opted to keep hers on. When the woman asked Ghost why this was, he said something to T'ahrou in their native language, and the larger male glanced to Brielle before returning his amber eyes to Ghost and clicked a response. "It seems to be something that she does routinely."

"She wears it out of habit?" He nodded and Brielle hummed thoughtfully as she watched the female lift and carry another large, metal container out of the cargo hold. Despite her small stature she was able to keep up with the males with little effort. "Are all the females that small?"

"Small Yautja are rare, even females can match the size of the males. Most are thin. Few are small in stature." The female growled as she entered the ship once more and Ghost's chest rumbled with soft laughter. "What did she say?"

"Dhadtoudi would like you to know that if you call her small again, you will not survive."


	18. 18

T'ahrou stood at the control panel of the ship with Dhadtoudi at the rear with Ghost and Brielle stood a few feet behind the large male as she watched him swipe and select various holographic controls. "So this controls the ship?" No response. "Your species seems to be extremely technologically advanced compared to mine." Again the male said nothing as he focused on his task. His amber eyes darted one way and then another as he altered and selected several strange symbols on the controls. "Are you pissed off or something?" This time the male stopped what he was doing, slowly looked down at the human female, and turned to click at Ghost who in turn erupted into a rumbling fit of laughter. "What did he say?" She asked her former science project.

"T'ahrou says he understands that phrase. Dhadtoudi uses it often." T'ahrou returned to his task until a steady, high-pitched, familiar beeping sound echoed off of the walls of the ship.

"Tell me he didn't just set another wrist bomb..."

"No." Ghost turned and pressed a holographic button on the wall which lowered the ramp from the cargo hull to the ground and Dhadtoudi stepped outside as T'ahrou turned to follow. "This one is stronger."

"You know I can't outrun that, right?!"

"Why would you?"

"Oh I don't know, maybe _survival_. You know, the thing that you seem to be so focused on!"

"That is the purpose of the other ship." Brielle stood there, frozen with fear and confusion while Ghost tilted his head to the side as he watched her. "You...broke me out. This is the deal."

"Wait, you mean... _holy shit_...you're really taking me back to your planet?!"

"If you wish to survive. Otherwise you should start running." Brielle jogged toward Ghost as the beeping continued and they stepped off of the ship before walking the thirty-something yards to the second ship. This one was slightly smaller on the outside but just as roomy on the inside. The controls seemed more high-tech than the one that Ghost had crashed in, and the woman felt the need to pinch herself in order to wake up from this dream that she was sure she was in.

Moments later the spacecraft roared to life and vibrates heavily as it began to rise from the ground. Brielle looked around desperately before dropping prone on her back and watched the ceiling with clear intent. Dhadtoudi was shuffling around some more controls when she caught sight of the human lying in the middle of the floor. She did a double take and watched the female for several seconds. "O'kaor, your Ooman is broken. Fix it or move it." The smaller of the two males also looked at the sweaty female and stepped over to stare down at her, his head tilting to the side as it often did.

"What are you doing?"

" _Obviously_ I'm preparing for launch. It's what the _astronauts_ do." Her tone suggested it was an obvious answer to a dumb question, and Ghost trilled a line of clicks before turning away from her.

"Not broken. Simply impaired. She will learn."

"Not likely." Brielle cast an annoyed glance sideways at the alien female which was blatantly ignored. "We have a running bet. It will be stricken with fear and grief and end its own life, or it will be killed soon after arrival."


	19. 19

It hadn't taken long for the human tagalong to fall asleep in her 'safe spot' on the floor, and Dhadtoudi retired to one of the bunk rooms in the back of the ship shortly after. T'ahrou and O'kaor were the only ones still moving about the spacecraft, and they watched the sweaty, exhausted scientist as her chest rose and fell with each breath. _**"I didn't think you would actually bring one back with you, O'kaor."**_

_**"Honestly, I didn't plan to."**_ A soft snoring sound reached them; barely audible but definitely there. _**"Dhadtoudi seems pleased with the situation."**_

T'ahrou chuckled only once before turning his amber eyes to meet the gaze of O'kaor. _**"I thought she would literally kill you. I've never seen her this agitated."**_

_**"She wouldn't go that far, would she? That would make her the biggest hypocrite on the planet."** _

_**"Her experience with the Oomans was not a pleasant one. She has good reason to believe the way she does. She will not be sparing with yours."**_ O'kaor nodded in understanding before turning his attention back to the human at hand. _**"Do not expect her to be kind to this one. Her patience already runs thin."**_ Light footfalls were heard from the back of the ship and Dhadtoudi stepped into view donning only her bio-mask and black form-fitting undergarments. T'ahrou clicked in anticipation but was answered with a low growl from the female. She stepped to the larger male's side and sat on the floor by his feet, watching the sleeping human carefully from behind her eye shields. _**"Go wake her up."**_

_**"Can I do it with my dagger?"**_ Another chuckle from T'ahrou. _**"I am not touching that thing. Have O'kaor do it, he's the one that brought it along."**_

_**"The deal was that I had to bring her back with me if she helped me break out of that damn lab."** _

_**"And you agreed?"**_ O'kaor shook his head causing his tresses to arch through the air.

_**"No, but I never disagreed."** _

Dhadtoudi scoffed before leaning to rest her head against T'ahrou's thigh. _**"It needs to bathe. I can smell it with my mask on. It's keeping me awake...why can't we just shoot it out of an air lock?"**_

_**"No."**_ Dhadtoudi scoffed again at the smaller male's retort. _**"She is a warrior among their people."**_

_**"They have no warriors, only psychotic occultists."** _

_**"Will you ever let that go?"** _

The female thought for a moment before turning her gaze to the slightly smaller, slumbering female. _**"I will let it go when you end this one's miserable excuse for a life."**_

———————————————————————

Brielle woke to the sharp feeling of something jabbing into her ribcage, and she opened her grey eyes to see O'kaor standing over her. She blinked a few times before leaning up and propping her elbows beneath herself to support her torso. The woman looked around at the ship and hummed thoughtfully. "I thought I was dreaming all of this..." He kicked her lightly with his foot once more and she glared up at the male. "Excuse you..!"

"Come."

"Where to, exactly?" A trill of clicks left his throat as he watched her, and once he realized she would not leave her position on the metallic floor, he kicked her again. "Jesus Christ, FINE! I'm coming!" She pushed herself to her feet and noticed the other female standing near the cargo ramp with Brielle's assault rifle in-hand. "How did you get that? Return it now!"

"You do not make demands here, Ooman." She pressed the control which lowered the ramp and turned to walk down the object with T'ahrou at her side. O'kaor nudged Brielle forward and she approached the exit as the two leaders made their way down. She too walked down the ramp, her grey eyes darting around the massive room. Everything from the floors to the ceiling was made of the same dark silver metal as the ship they had traveled in, and it was filled with bustling creatures that closely resembled T'ahrou and O'kaor. "Hey Ghost...are we where I think we are..?" More clicks were her answer, and a creature nearby that was carrying a metallic box glanced at her before returning their amber eyes to their path and quickly did a double-take as they stared intently at the human. Their eyes seemed to be filled with confusion as they watched her move with the group, and within moments she had dozens of eyes staring her down.

A deafening roar filled the area as a large male rivaling the size of T'ahrou dropped some sort of tool from his position under a spacecraft, and he stormed towards the newly arrived travelers. He stepped across the enormous room within seconds and stopped mere inches from Dhadtoudi's diminished form. He let loose a dangerous growl which she quickly returned as she bowed up to the male, the top of her head only reaching the middle of his chest.

T'ahrou stepped between them now, but Dhadtoudi pushed him aside as she returned to her position before the threatening creature. He was dressed in a metal chestplate, a gauntlet on his right forearm, and a metallic loincloth. Boots similar to those of T'ahrou and Ghost adorned his feet and muscular calves.

"Ghost, what's going on?" Brielle whispered the question but dared not take her eyes from the beings that stood growling before her.

"He believes you are here on Dhadtoudi's request."

"But I'm not..."

"I know this. That is why they are discussing who will kill you."


	20. 20

Just as it seemed the situation with Dhadtoudi and the new male would escalate, a much smaller male in more modernized armor and a bio-mask which displayed pitch black eye shields stepped toward them. Soft clicking sounds crept from this male's throat and the larger of the two turned to face him with a low growl, his mandibles flaring slightly. The smaller let loose a deafening roar and the larger backed away from the female.

Dhadtoudi placed her fist over her chest and bowed at the waist to the approaching male. He wasn't much taller than her considering the average size of the others, merely a foot or so difference between them. **_"Zaiyu..."_**

_**"What is the meaning of this, Dhadtoudi?"** _

She rose to her full height and looked up at the newcomer. _**"You know well enough that this was not my doing."**_ Zaiyu looked to T'ahrou who promptly shook his head, then the shorter one turned his attention to O'kaor.

_**"You are responsible for this?"**_ O'kaor nodded once and Zaiyu's mandibles flexed in irritation. _**"Then you will explain to the Council your reasoning behind this reckless decision."**_

__

_**"How is it reckless?"** _

__

_**"You cannot bring every soft meat that you find back to our home world."** _

__

_**"Elder Tah'kath did just that."** _

__

_**"Tah'kath brought back a soft meat pup. You brought a grown pyode-amedha!"** _

**_"She is a warrior."_ **

****

**_"How does that make the situation any better?!"_** Zaiyu pinned O'kaor against the outer wall of the ship which welcomed more onlookers than before. _**"You stand here, announce that this creature is a skilled fighter, and still you decided to bring it back with you?!"**_

_**"Yes."**_ Zaiyu growled and gave another forceful shove against the larger male before releasing his grip and turned to face Dhadtoudi once again.

She held her hands up, palms-out in submission. _**"I tried to warn him. He wouldn't listen."**_

__

_**"Come. All of you. And bring the Ooman."** _

———————————————————————

Brielle watched, startled as the shorter creature pushed Ghost against the ship with little effort. The resounding slam left a small dent in the metal of the vessel, and the two were locked in a conversation of clicks and growls. The shorter of the two released O'kaor from his hold and turned toward the female who raised her hands in front of her as if to insinuate 'It wasn't me'.

"Is there going to be a fight or not?" She had directed the question at Ghost, but all four of the creatures looked at her. The new male voiced another round of clicks and Dhadtoudi followed up with her own sounds as she folded her arms over her chest.

_**"It talks?"**_ Dhadtoudi clicked in frustration at Zaiyu as she folded her arms over her chest, the assault rifle still in her hand and her shielded eyes never leaving the human in dirtied clothes.

_**"It rarely stops."** _

_**"What is that?"**_ He looked down at the rifle and Dhadtoudi offered it out for him to receive.

_**"A weapon. Many of them were armed with these."**_ Zaiyu observed the object but did not take it. Instead he tilted his head quizzically and returned his attention to its current handler. _**"What?"**_

_**"This weapon suits you, Dhadtoudi."**_ The female growled in a threatening tone and the three males erupted into amused fits of clicking and soft chuckles. She turned her eyes on T'ahrou who immediately fell silent, and the other two dialed back their laughter as well. _**"Come, we must go before the Council."**_

_**"Why must you go?"**_ Dhadtoudi questioned.

Zaiyu led the group away from the ship, the soft meat taking extra care to stay between O'kaor and T'ahrou with Dhadtoudi and Zaiyu leading them. _**"Unfortunately since I am responsible for your actions, I must be present as well."**_

_**"I didn't bring the Ooman! I tried to prevent it!"** _

__

_**"Perhaps...but regardless, you used MY ship to transport it here."**_ Dhadtoudi grumbled to herself but took the argument no further. It was several minutes worth of walking through winding corridors before they came to a stop outside a large metallic doorway and Zaiyu gave a final glance at his followers before pressing a button on the control panel and the door whooshed open to the side.

The room inside was massive, nearly half the size of the docking bay. Opposite the entrance was a raised metallic platform that stood approximately thirty feet from the base level with seven seats placed evenly along the length of the platform with the middle seat being the largest and most extravagant of them. It was twice the size of the others and seemed to be made from a large, spiked skull of some kind. The being that was seated here seemed much older than the other six, though the others were much older than any of the creatures that Brielle had witnessed so far.

The eldest donned a green cape that matched his emerald eyes, and multiple small skulls and other various bones accented his minimal armor. As the human and four Yautja stepped into the room, the door sealed behind them and the Yautja lined up side by side. Each placed their fists over their chests and bowed low at the waist.

_**"Many greetings, Ancient O'stba."**_ They all said in unison as Brielle looked on in confusion, but eventually mimicked their movements and bowed as well. The Ancient cocked his head to the side as he watched the human intently, but soon turned his emerald eyes to Dhadtoudi.

_**"I am eager to hear the details of your hunt, young ones. Especially you, Dhadtoudi. You appear to have returned with an...unusual trophy."** _

_**"Ancient One, this was not my doing. O'kaor was captured on his hunt, so T'ahrou and I ventured to the pyode-amedha planet to retrieve him. It was the Young Blood that brought the Ooman here."**_ The other six beings erupted into clicking whispers and a few low growls, but the one with green eyes unleashed a ferocious growl to silence the others. The sound startled everyone in the room, and the human visibly flinched at the intensity of it.

_**"T'ahrou, what say you?"** _

__

_**"It is as Dhadtoudi says, Ancient One."** _

He turned his emerald gaze to O'kaor now, and the Young Blood flexed his mandibles uncomfortably. _**"Explain, young one."**_

O'kaor glanced sideways at the human who returned his gaze, and after a moment he stood taller and moved his focus back to the Ancient. _**"My ship crashed on entry. The cloaking systems were damaged and a group of pyode-amedha discovered my ship. I admit that I was captured, but this one battled her own kind to spare my life and aid in my escape. During my time at the soft meat facility, I learned that this female was a warrior of her race."**_ The Ancient said nothing in response, his expression remaining unreadable. _**"I witnessed her fighting skills firsthand, and she struck down over half of the opposing soft meats on her own."**_

_**"You hold faith in her abilities?"**_ O'kaor nodded and the Ancient turned his eyes to Brielle once more. "Female, approach." Brielle was surprised to hear her native tongue through the heavy accent of the Ancient. She looked to her counterparts, but the only one who returned her gaze was O'kaor who clicked softly and nodded for her to step forward. She did as requested, and stepped across the room until she was only twenty feet from the Ancient. "Speak your name."

"B-Brielle Ronaldi...sir."

"From where do you hail, Brielle Ronaldi?"

"California, sir. On planet Earth."

A rumbling chuckle filled the room and sent a chill crawling along her spine until the old one with green eyes silenced his amusement. "That much I know, Brielle Ronaldi." He leaned forward in his seat slightly. "This one tells me that you are a warrior. Is this the truth?"

"Of sorts, yes." The creature said nothing for a moment before she continued. "I was in the Special Forces...a sniper. I was top of my class and the best shot on my platoon until I was medically discharged, but they kept me around as a mercenary for several years."

"Mercenary..." He repeated slowly. "This I know...you kill your kind in return for payment?" She nodded once. "Many Yautja would believe this to be a dishonorable act, Brielle Ronaldi."

"Why does _your_ kind kill?" His head tilted to the side in curiosity and she waited for his reply.

"Yautja kill for food and for trophies."

"Do you kill in response to war declarations?" The green eyed one nodded. "Then we're not that different." A few clicks filled the room and he lifted his hand in the air; the sound quickly died away.

_**"O'kaor, What is your request?"** _

__

_**"That the female be permitted to stay among us, Ancient One."** _

_**"This is heresy!"**_ One of the male's alongside O'stba rose to his feet as he slammed his fist against the armrest of his chair. _**"One Ooman is one too many, yet you wish to bring in another?!"**_

_**"She learns quickly. She is knowledgeable in the sciences. She shows great interest in our people, and great promise in her abilities."** _

__

_**"Do you wish to breed with an Ooman as well?!"**_ O'kaor visibly flinched at the sudden, unexpected, deeply personal question, and Dhadtoudi clenched her fists at her side. " _ **Do you wish to disgrace your ancestors as T'ahrou has?!"**_

"Come down here and say that again, P'los'ah!" Zaiyu caught Dhadtoudi by the arm before she could advance further, and Brielle looked over her shoulder to see what was going on.

"Is that a challenge, Ooman?!"

_**"Call me that again and yours will be the next skull that I clean for my wall!"** _

"Is it her turn to speak with you? Because I can step back..." O'stba waved a dismissive hand in the air.

"Nonsense. A simple disagreement."

_**"Primitive abomination!"**_ The aggressing male shouted.

_**"Impotent S'yuit-de!"**_ Dhadtoudi answered back.

O'stba rose from his seat and the disgruntled male took a step to the side, offering ample room for the Ancient to move (and to get out of arms reach of him). _**"Dhadtoudi, step forward."**_ The female yanked her arm from Zaiyu's grasp and moved to stand alongside Brielle, though she kept several feet of space between them. _ **"What is your qualm with this pyode-amedha?"**_

_**"It is weak. It held O'kaor captive in her science room. And it is unbelievably annoying."** _

_**"If she was able to restrain O'kaor against his will for so long, is she as weak as you believe her to be? Or does O'kaor require remedial training before his chiva?”**_ Dhadtoudi said nothing, but turned her head slightly as a low trill of clicks left her throat. "Dhadtoudi can seem harsh at times, Brielle Ronaldi. Especially when the safety and honor of our clan is at risk. Your kind has left a lingering impression on her soul, and it was not a pleasant one. Do not hold this against her."

"I'm not one to judge someone for their opinions. I know humans can be a pain to be around, but not all of us are like that. Just like I'm sure not everyone of your kind are hateful assholes." Dhadtoudi looked at the human woman so quickly that her dreadlocks arched with the motion as a low growl filled the heavy air between them. "She's entitled to her opinion, even if she's wrong." The room was filled with unintelligible alien words as the other members of the council whispered among themselves once more.

_**"Dhadtoudi,"**_ O'stba began, **_"if you judge one being by the acts of their people as a whole, you are no better than those that do the same to you."_**

****

**_"I understand, Ancient One..."_ **

_**"Very well. The lot of you are excused."** _

O'kaor took a step forward now. _**"She will stay?"**_

_**"Do you reject my decision, Young Blood?"** _

__

_**"No, Ancient One."**_ O'stba returned to his seat and motioned for the group to depart once more, to which the younger Yautja responded by each bowing once more. When Dhadtoudi returned to her upright position, she turned on her heel and nudged the human woman with an open palm to direct her to walk towards the three waiting males.

_**"O'stba, you cannot honestly agree to this..!"**_ He ignored the complaints of his fellow Ancients, and watched as the human walked in the center of the Yautja group.

_I am eager to see how this arrangement ends..._

O'stba's thoughts were cut short as another Ancient asked him a direct question, and he reluctantly joined in on the heated. conversation.


	21. 21

Zaiyu, O'kaor, T'ahrou, and Dhadtoudi all stood outside the entrance of the dwelling as they discussed what would happen with the human female that waited silently on the other side. _**"I feel that Dhadtoudi should be the one to watch over her."**_ O'kaor made the casual suggestion and blatantly ignored the small female's growling protest. _**"It only makes sense that a female reside with another female during such a drastic change.**_

_**"Why should I have to pup-sit?! You are the one that wanted to bring it back to begin with!"** _

_**"Her."**_ Dhadtoudi growled again at the grammatical correction, but again she was ignored. She turned her shielded eyes to Zaiyu who was still donning his own bio-mask. Before she could plead her case to the shortest of the three males, O'kaor spoke again. _**"T'ahrou, would you be opposed?"**_

_**"Do not drag me into your mess, O'kaor. You know where my loyalties lie."**_ Dhadtoudi gave a proud huff as she held her head high and folded her arms over her chest.

O'kaor scoffed as he threw his head from one side to the other, his tresses arching with the movement. _**"You betray your bloodline, T'ahrou."**_

_**"By doing so, I am protecting it."**_ A rumbling chuckle erupted from Zaiyu's chest which earned a swift punch to the arm from Dhadtoudi. _**"Regardless, I refuse to participate in this decision."**_

\----------------------------------------------------

Brielle stood in the center of the room for several minutes, taking in her new surroundings. The setup was strangely similar to how a living room would appear in a human home, though some of the apparent decorations were more primitive in nature; various skins, furs, and bones covered the walls, floors, and furniture. She noticed what appeared to be a somewhat large kitchen area with an island off to the right, and a hallway straight ahead.

Much of the area was the now-familiar dark grey metal, and the room smelled like a mix of fruit and flowers. _No, not flowers..._ she thought. _Possibly body odor...no, it isn't pungent._ Her thoughts trailed off and she moved to sit on what appeared to be a large sofa made of jet black reptilian hide. Despite the outward appearance, the piece of furniture (tall as it was) was surprisingly soft. The fabric caved as her body sank into it, and it felt pleasantly warm. Brielle swung her legs slightly, her feet dangling nearly 15 inches above the ground. She continued to scope out her surroundings but jumped slightly when she heard a demonic sound echoing from the other side of the doorway. _Laughing...just laughing._ She fought to stabilize her heartrate and leaned back into the supportive cushion of the alien-sized sofa. Her stomach growled disturbingly loud, and she placed a hand over her abdomen as if the motion would somehow muffle the sound.

Several minutes passed before the whooshing sound of the entrance caught her attention and she turned to peek over the top of her current vantage point. Dhadtoudi looked around before her eye shields found the human and her body visibly tensed. "Sorry, but I didn't know how long it would be until someone came back." The female inhaled deeply and slowly turned her masked gaze to the right until she was looking up at Ghost. "Was I not supposed to sit here? I know some people like to reserve furniture for aesthetic purposes only..."

Dhadtoudi bristled again before stepping forward, grabbing the female by the arm, and pulled her off of the sofa before dragging her down the hallway with lackluster grace. The female ignored the human's verbal protests and questioning as she stopped at the end of the hallway and turned to the right before she pressed a holographic control on the side of the wall. Another door whooshed to the side and Dhadtoudi more or less pushed Brielle inside the room before the door sealed shut behind them.

"Remove your clothing." Brielle turned in shock to the slightly larger female, her grey eyes burning with defiance.

"Excuse you?!" she exclaimed.

"Your clothing. Remove it."

"You first, pervert!"

Dhadtoudi clenched her fists at her sides and Brielle could hear the tension in her voice as she spoke. "You are dirty."

"Yeah, but that's not my kink. Sorry to disappoint." Dhadtoudi lifted a hand and pointed behind Brielle who, against her better judgement, turned to look behind her. She was surprised to see a small oasis pool with various plants around the edge and some sort of mutated lily pads floating in the deeper end of the water. "So you expect me to get into _that_?" The female nodded and Brielle scoffed softly as she crossed her arms over her chest. "How do I know it's not filled with acid?"

"You do not trust me?"

"Not until I have proof that I won't die if I get in." After a long, awkwardly tense moment between them, Brielle was surprised to see Dhadtoudi begin to disconnect her various pieces of armor and weaponry before discarding them to the floor below. She removed a belt of small skulls from about her waist and hips and placed it with her discarded items as well. She reached behind her neck and a sharp snap echoed through the room before she lowered the top half of her fishnet body suit and slipped her arms out. She unlatched the metallic loincloth and let it fall to the floor before she stepped the rest of the way out of the bodysuit. Brielle blushed heavily as she struggled to keep her grey eyes focused on the silver eye shields of the mask.

Dhadtoudi was standing before her, dressed in nothing but her bio-mask and what appeared to be a small, black thong. Surprisingly enough, her body seemed rather similar to that of a human woman. Her torso and hips were formed to a nearly perfect hourglass shape, large perky breasts sat firmly atop her chest, and an outward bellybutton adorned her muscular abdomen. She had no spikes as the males did, and no freckle-like spots. Her skin seemed to be a blank, mocha-colored canvas as she stepped past Brielle and walked slowly down the steps that led into the water. She waded to the right-hand side and sat on what appeared to be a ledge before draping her dreadlocks over the side to keep them out of the water and silently watched the human for several seconds.

"Okay...you called my bluff." Dhadtoudi remained silent as Brielle turned to face away from the female and gently tugged her white tank top over her head before unsnapping the strap of her white lace bralette and let it fall to the floor. She did the same with her black shorts and white lace underwear that had a small red bow just above her pubic bone. She slipped off her shoes and socks and covered herself with her hands as best she could before she too slowly stepped into the water and moved to sit opposite from Dhadtoudi. "So...come here often?"

"This is my dwelling. Why would I avoid this area?" Her tone was flat, obviously not believing the joke was worthy of her amusement.

"So you live here? It's a nice place. Do you live with anyone?"

"Why do you ask, Ooman?" Again her tone was flat, this time holding a trace of annoyance.

"Humans are a curious species."

Dhadtoudi clicked sharply before leaning back against the side of the pool. "Zaiyu. T'ahrou."

" _Both_?" Dhadtoudi nodded once, and Brielle hummed thoughtfully. "Your kind is open to polygamy?"

"What is that?"

"When you...I guess _breed_...with more than one person?"

Dhadtoudi sat upright faster than Brielle would have thought possible. "Yautja mate for life. To commit such an act is dishonorable."

"So you don't mate with two suitors for life..?"

"One mate..!" Dhadtoudi's voice took on an angry defiance now.

"Then which one is your mate?"

"T'ahrou..!"

"Oh...then who is Zaiyu?"

_**"Mei'hswei."**_ She must have noticed Brielle's confused expression and gave a heavy sigh. "We were reared together."

"Reared..? You mean you were raised together? You're siblings?" Dhadtoudi clicked softly before returning to her relaxed position, and Brielle hummed again. "So no incest, then?" A low growl was her answer. "Are you just going to stay in here with me the entire time?"

"It is my dwelling. It is my water. I will go when I am satisfied."


	22. 22

_"What would you like for lunch today, Sarah?" Brielle sat on the stairs outside of her apartment building, absentmindedly tubing her palms together as she watched the blue-eyed businessman typing on his phone as he stood on the sidewalk._

_"Mister Brooks, my name is Brielle. Not Sarah."_

_"Right, my mistake. You just really look like a Sarah to me." Brielle inhaled slowly as she pushed down her frustration. "Well then Brielle," she ignored the added emphasis on her name, "what will it be? Steak? Seafood? Perhaps veal..?"_

_"Mister Brooks, I appreciate your generosity regarding my employment...but I cannot participate in fraternization with the C.E.O. of the company."_

_"Nonsense." He waved a dismissive hand. "It's not fraternization if there is no sex involved."_

_"That's not how that works, Mister Brooks." She fought to ignore the pink blush that was creeping onto her cheeks from the inappropriate comment. "Fraternization means-"_

_"I am fully aware of the definition, Sarah. And if you continue to argue with me over trivial matters, then I will have no choice but to transfer you to a different department within the facility. Perhaps Public Relations?"_

———————————————————————

Brielle was pulled from her thoughts as her head was forcefully pulled to the side. She cried out in pain but the three males ignored her protests as T'ahrou lay outstretched on the sofa while holding a dagger in the air above him to inspect it, Zaiyu occupied himself with some sort of drink in the kitchen area, and Ghost stood silently against the nearby wall with his arms folded over his chest as he watched the torture unfold before his amber eyes. "Would you stop that?!" She tried to turn and look at her abuser, but she was met with a swift smack to the back of her skull. It wasn't hard enough to hurt, but the harsh pop sound was enough to more or less 'reset' her focus.

"I will stop when I am done!" Brielle glowered at Dhadtoudi's snide remark but didn't argue. "Your tresses are unhealthy. They break."

"They're probably breaking because you're _ripping_ them out of my _skull_..!"

"I will rip your skull from your shoulders and hang it on my wall if you continue..!"

_**"Dhadtoudi.**_ " The female looked to her mate from behind her eye shields as she continued to twist and blend the strands of hair together. _**"Have patience with her. They are called 'soft meat' for good reason."**_ He never removed his eyes from the silver blade in his hands, but he could sense the look that was being cast his way.

_**"All the more reason why O'kaor should not have brought it here. It complains too much."** _

_**"You complain as well, Dhadtoudi."**_ She looked to Zaiyu now as he finished his drink and decided to have another. _**"You are not without flaw."**_

"I feel like I'm at a nail salon, and you're the Asian nail techs who are badmouthing my callouses in your native language." The four of them looked at the human woman for a long moment before Dhadtoudi clicked in irritation and continued her task of forming the bulky dreadlocks atop the human's head. "And you're the lady that files my nails down until my fingers bleed." Another swift pop upside her head silenced her once more.

_**"Why must I be responsible for it's appearance? All of you know how to form tresses!"** _

_**"You know why."**_ She glared at Zaiyu again and frowned when the human began to shift uncomfortably in her cross-legged position on the metallic floor.

Dhadtoudi lightly shoved the back of her shoulders, nearly toppling the young woman in the process. "Walk."

"Thank God..!" Brielle eased her way to a standing position, taking care not to drop the fur-hide blanket that was wrapped around her body to hide her nudity. Dhadtoudi tugged at the elastic bandeau top that bound her chest before stretching and popping her back. Brielle continued to walk laps along the corridor with a slight limp on her right side, and Dhadtoudi watched carefully as she moved.

_**"A recent injury."**_ O'kaor explained as he too watched the female. _**"The leg bone was shattered. It happened within the first five solar rotations during my stay in the Ooman facility."**_

_**"Her body is weak, O'kaor. She will not survive here for long."**_ He ignored Dhadtoudi's warning and kept his focus on the human woman as she slowly leveled out her steps, only reaching out to balance herself against the wall every once in a while.


	23. 23

"You will sleep here." Dhadtoudi tossed a black fur blanket onto the mattress-like piece of furniture in the bedroom and turned to leave the room. She stopped just short of the door and pulled a long, metallic spear from a wall mount and carried it out with her. "You are not to enter my quarters, do you understand?" Her words seemed to form more of a statement than a question, and Brielle let out a soft sigh.

"Yes, _mother_." Dhadtoudi glanced over her shoulder to glare at the human through her eye shields, and Brielle held up her hands in submission. "My apologies. I will respect your privacy."

Dhadtoudi stepped back into the living room and the bedroom door sealed behind her. Brielle let fall to the ground the blanket that was shielding her body from the world around her, and she draped the new, much larger one over the mattress top. Once she was content with the placement of the black fur, she gathered the other into her arms once more and climbed onto the raised bed before draping the fur over her body and curling into herself.

Despite her falling asleep on the ship, her mind and body were exhausted and Brielle was quick to give in to the weight of slumber. "Damn," she mumbled to herself, "I never got my last paycheck."

———————————————————————

Her dreams were filled with darkness and the scent of blood. Brielle stretched against the throbbing pain in her thigh, remembering only that she needed to run. A high-pitched beeping sound echoed in her ears, and she could feel her heart pounding in her chest.

A sudden weight appeared behind her, an intense warmth spanning the length of her back. She scooted closer to the heat source before finally turning into it. It felt soothing against her bare chest and abdomen, and she nuzzled into the heat. A soft rumbling sound replaced the beeping, sounding almost similar to a purr. Gentle vibrations spread through her body and the heavy warmth moved to rest on her side, fitting nicely in the curve between her ribcage and hipbone.

Another moment passed and she was slipping back into her dreamworld. She wanted to stay in the warmth. She could fight no longer as she dreamt she was back in her laboratory, examining DNA samples from recently-discovered species of fish.

———————————————————————

When she awoke the next morning, Brielle sat up to realize she was not in her laboratory as she had believed, but she was still on the strange bed, in the strange room, on the strange planet. She looked around the room, finding nothing out of place compared to her hazy memory of the night before.

She eased her legs over the side of the bed and slowly pushed herself to a standing position. She wrapped herself in the blanket as she had the night prior, and made her way to the doorway. To her surprise, it opened as she approached the device, and she stepped out of the room to find the three males gathered in the kitchen area. They all turned and looked at her, all of them cocking their heads to the side in apparent curiosity. "Good morning..." she began as she looked around the hallway and adjoining living room. "Where is Dhadtoudi?"

As if on cue, the slightly larger female exited a room further down the hallway and to the left, stopping to take in the sight of the newly-awoken human. She was wearing her bio-mask again, and Brielle wondered why she did so when the males did not. "What do you want?" The female's tone was dull and harsh, but Brielle paid no mind.

"Good morning, Dhadtoudi. Did you sleep well?"

"I had a night terror. We returned from a hunt with an Ooman on our ship. It is unfortunate to see that I have not yet awoken from this atrocity." Brielle frowned at her words as Dhadtoudi turned to move toward what she remembered to be the bathroom. "O'kaor, your Ooman requires sustenance. Deal with it." She turned on her heel, still donning her bandeau top and black thong from last night (or perhaps a new set), and entered the bathroom before the door sealed behind her.

"Is she always so abrasive?" Brielle turned to face the males now, and Ghost gave a curt nod.

"You adjust to her moods. Sit. You will eat." He nodded to a backless chair on the opposite side of the island from himself and the other males, and the woman obliged as she carefully moved to sit atop the perch. "You slept well?" Ghost asked the question as he prepared a few pieces of fruit on a metallic plate.

"Eventually. I was worried for a while that I would talk in my sleep and interrupt someone else's rest."

"You did neither of those things."

"Were you spying on me?" He paused in his movements briefly before resuming his task.

"Yautja have heightened senses compared to your kind." Brielle hummed thoughtfully, perhaps even a tad disbelievingly, but did not press the matter further.

"So T'ahrou...you and Dhadtoudi are a couple? You're mates?" Ghost let loose a trill of clicks to which the larger male answered with his own native sounds, and Ghost erupted into a deep chuckle. "What's funny?"

"He says he will not speak to you about such matters because he values both his life and his bloodline." Brielle furrowed her brow before shaking her head, her newly-formed dreadlocks swaying gently with the action. "Are you and Zaiyu mates, then?"

Ghost fell quiet for a moment, and defiantly shook his head. "That is unheard of in the Dark Blade Clan..!"

"That's not a no."

"WE ARE NOT MATES..!"

Brielle nearly flinched at his booming tone, and Dhadtoudi's voice was heard from the other side of the dwelling. "That's the first good decision that you have made since you left for your hunt, O'kaor!"


	24. 24

Brielle and Dhadtoudi had been at each other's throats since the early morning hours, and to say the males were growing weary of the incessant squabbling would be a painful understatement.

"Why must you be so frustrating?!"

"Well, why do you have to be such a raging _bitch_?!" Zaiyu had created some lackluster reason to leave the dwelling, so T'ahrou and O'kaor were left to fend for themselves in the heated tempers of the females. "I don't know how _anyone_ can stand to live with you!"

"You dare disrespect a Blooded Warrior?! Know this, Ooman: the punishment for such stupidity is death!"

"Then why don't you do it already?! You threaten it often enough!"

Dhadtoudi took a dangerous step forward, and Brielle reacted with a step backward. O'kaor stood in the 'eating area' as they referred to it, along with T'ahrou and simply watched the goings on between the smaller beings. **_"Is Dhadtoudi in heat..?"_** He mumbled the question to which T'ahrou responded with a slight shake of the head.

**_"If she were, you would know."_ **

**_"Then how are they both so aggressive..?"_ **

The larger of the two shrugged now, still keeping his amber eyes trained on the bickering females. _**"Perhaps it is caused by female hormones...a territorial reaction and fight for dominance."**_

**_"Do you think it will actually come to blows between them?"_ **

_**"It is likely. What are they saying?"** _

**_"Just petty insults. Nothing too worrisome yet."_** T'ahrou hummed thoughtfully as he carefully watched Dhadtoudi's movements, waiting for any sign that she might attack.

The two watched for several more minutes before they were forced to intervene. "You're such a twat!!" Brielle was pacing side to side now, her cheeks flushed red with anger. "Are your parents as big of assholes as you, or did they just not raise you right?"

"WHAT?!" Dhadtoudi's body visibly tensed at the remark, and the male's began to approach the situation. Just as they took their first steps, Dhadtoudi lunged for the human who mirrored her reaction. T'ahrou managed to catch Dhadtoudi by the waist as O'kaor grabbed Brielle and placed her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "You insult my bloodline, Ooman?! _**Release her! I will hang her by her entrails! Right here! Right now! Paya, let go of me, T'ahrou..!"**_ She struggled against the behemoth Yautja to no avail.

_**"Dhadtoudi, she doesn't know any better..."**_ O'kaor used a level tone with the struggling female as he slowly eased toward the exit with his own.

_**"I SAID RELEASE HER! THIS ENDS NOW!"** _

"What the hell did she say?!"

T'ahrou began to struggle with his captive, finally forced to pin her on the ground. He bent her arm in such a way that the shoulder joint should have dislocated, but there was no sickening pop. Instead, she twisted her hand just so and began to scrape and claw against his bare chest and abdomen. **_"Dhadtoudi, calm yourself!"_**

**_"Kehrite! Now!"_** The two males fell silent though T'ahrou still restrained the masked female beneath his large form.

"What did that twat-waffle say?! Tell me what she said!" Brielle was now struggling to break free from her elevated position, but O'kaor didn't seem to even notice her. "I swear to God, I'm going to kick her fugly alien face in!"

Dhadtoudi managed to connect the back of her skull with T'ahrou's nostrils would be positioned had he any, and he let loose a vicious, animalistic snarl in response to the sharp pain that was now radiating throughout his face. His reflexes kicked into high gear and he slammed Dhadtoudi against the metallic floor with a sickening CRACK as her mask connected with the hard ground. **_"YOU WILL CALM YOURSELF BEFORE I DO IT FOR YOU, FEMALE!"_**

**_"Ell-osde' pauk!"_** Another connection between her mask and the floor. _**"You will allow this Ooman to disrespect me, and reprimand me for defending my bloodline's honor?!"**_

**_"What honor does it bring your bloodline if you act like a senseless Bad Blood?!"_** Her struggles began to weaken, and in response T'ahrou eased his grip on her ever so slightly. **_"How can you expect the soft meat to respect our ways if you will not allow her time to learn them?"_** His tone was softer now, coming out as a soft blend of clicks and purring sounds.

**_"Get off of me, T'ahrou. I will not attack it."_** He didn't move. **_"I give you my word as a Blooded Warrior."_** Another moment passed before the male complied and lifted himself off of the female and she pushed herself to a standing position before carefully stretching and rotating her shoulder and wrist. She moved past O'kaor and thus the human, and she stopped to look at Brielle from behind her eye shields. "You will meet me in the **_Kehrite_**. You have two hours to prepare."

With that said, Dhadtoudi made her way out of the dwelling and Brielle looked sideways at the male that still held her on his shoulder. "What's a carrot riot?"

"The **_Kehrite_** is where we go to train and fight."

"So she's going to run away and cry for two hours, and then go to the carrot riot so I can kick her ass? Or not even show up at all?"

"Dhadtoudi is known for many things, but she has never backed down from a battle."

"It's just a fight, Ghost. Like a schoolground rough-and-tumble."

O'kaor shook his head now, glancing sideways at the human with his amber eyes. "You insulted her bloodline; that is a direct attack on her honor. You threatened harm on a Blooded Warrior...that is a formal challenge. She is likely headed there now to wait for you. Be thankful that she is allowing you time for preparation."

"What's the worst that could happen? We get a few scrapes and bruises...maybe a few bone fractures? Please, I'm not worried." She laughed a little through the last sentence, but O'kaor did not reciprocate her amusement.

"You do not understand, Brielle Ronaldi. In a formal challenge with a Blooded Warrior, the battle is often fought to the death."

"What if one of us gives up before someone dies?"

"The warrior that yields will be marked as a disgrace to their ancestors, and the resulting punishment will be death."


	25. 25

O'kaor and T'ahrou kept Brielle between them as they made their way through the bustling streets of the Yautja colony. She was wearing garments similar to spandex shorts and matching bralette; two items that T'ahrou had provided from Dhadtoudi's wardrobe. Despite her ability to fit the female's clothing, though it was a bit loose on her body, there was no way of forcing a bio-mask to attach to her face. Each mask is custom made for a perfect fit to the owner. No two were the same, and there was no time to forge one for the human.

Because of her highly unusual visage compared to the native Yautja, many of the warrior race would stop to try to get a better look at the odd creature walking among them. If they lingered for too long or clicked something that the larger males did not seemingly agree with, they would send the snoopers away with a threatening growl. Brielle walked as swiftly as she could manage, her bare feet stinging against the hot ground below. The humidity was excruciating as it made it more difficult to breathe normally, especially with the strenuous work of keeping pace with these massive creatures around her.

"How...much farther?" She panted as she blurted out the question. "I...don't want...you guys getting...worn out...before we get there."

T'ahrou trilled a series of clicks and O'kaor responded with something that resembled a groan followed by his own clicking sounds. "You cannot stop to breathe when you are in an exposed area, Brielle Ronaldi."

"That's...not what I'm saying, Ghost. I'm fine, I'm worried about the two of you."They did not respond to her comment as they continued on their trek towards a large, metallic building that somewhat resembled an ancient Mayan temple, or Egyptian pyramid. "What...is...that?!"

" ** _Kehrite_**."

"Ah...so...you copied human structures for your buildings. That's trippy."

"Yautja ancestors shared our methods with **_pyode-amedha_**. We learned nothing from your kind, with the exception that you make excellent incubation vessels for **_kiande-amedha_**."

"That's...that's the thing you blew up the facility over, right?" He nodded once. "Oh...that's...not a pleasant thought." She pondered for a minute before looking up at O'kaor once more. "If I lose...I don't die by kiddie amdah, do I?"

"You are **_pyode-amedha_**. I do not see why the clan would allow you special privilege if you fail." Brielle choked down a gulp and tried to ignore the bone-chilling thought of the eyeless creatures growing inside her body.

\------------------------------------------------------

The rest of the walk had been spent in silence between the three beings, and Brielle couldn't help but be awestruck at the massive size and expansive battle paraphernalia throughout the temple. She followed closely behind O'kaor and T'ahrou as they maneuvered through countless winding hallways and passages. Starting out, they only passed a handful of Yautja at a time, but it seemed the closer they got to the heart of the structure, the more warriors they saw. A dull humming sound reached Brielle's ears and within minutes the sound grew to a loud cacophony of growling.

Brielle was taken to a large, secluded room which was filled with a plethora of weapons. Everything from swords and knives to shuriken blades and plasma blasters lined the walls. "What is this?" The woman asked. T'ahrou and O'kaor shared in a brief exchange of clicks before the smaller of the two stepped forward and retreived what appeared to be a katana of sorts and held it toward the female.

"Young Bloods use these to build experience before the chiva." Brielle nodded in an attempt to act as though she understood perfectly what he was telling her.

_What the fuck is a chiva..?_

She was pulled from her thoughts as O'kaor again motioned for her to accept the Japanese-styled sword, and she did just that, albeit with a bit of confusion. "What's this for?"

"You must use it against Dhadtoudi."

"Excuse you?" He didn't react to her incredulous tone, and she risked a glance at T'ahrou. "Is he serious?"

"T'ahrou does not understand the Ooman tongue."

"Of course he doesn't..." she rolled her eyes and looked down at the sword in her hand. "So you weren't kidding when you said this is a fight to the death?"

"You believe I would speak a false truth?" Before she could answer, Ghost unsheathed his gauntlet blades and sliced through the air at an uncomfortable proximity to Brielle's face. She lurched backward with lackluster grace and fought to catch her balance. He struck again, this time narrowly missing her stomach. "Fight back, Ooman..!" He swiped again, nearly slicing her throat.

Brielle staggered back several feet before falling to the ground and nearly dropping the sword. "What are you doing?! GHOST?!" Another swing was aimed right for her jugular.


	26. 26

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ****Trigger Warning, y'all. Fighting/bullying. You have been warned. 😁

Brielle focused on leveling her heartrate as she stepped tiredly through the maze of hallways, following closely behind the two large males. "Why do you two have to act like body guards?" she asked as she focused most of her attention on the larger of the two. Ghost clicked something to T'ahrou who glanced down at the human and gave a trilling response.

"Some Yautja have extensive experience protecting small females."

She hummed thoughtfully, almost disbelieving as she pondered his response. "You said at the lab that I would be killed since I'm not a member of your clan..." The smaller male said nothing as he kept his eyes forward. "Why doesn't T'ahrou?" she pointed at the male for emphasis, and Ghost flexed his mandibles slowly as his body seemed to tense ever so slightly.

"T'ahrou is not one to judge by appearance. He was...enlightened, years ago."

"What do you mean by 'enlightened'?"

His mandibles flexed again as he risked a glance at the larger male. "Dhadtoudi is...small. She is weak among our people. She was believed to be short lived because of this."

"She was born prematurely?"

"I do not understand."

Brielle frowned at his response. "So because she was so small, she was supposed to die?" Ghost nodded. "But she survived, so that was his big realization that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover?"

"I do not understand." The steady humming/growling sound from earlier was now accompanied by a thunderous, rhythmic beat that reverberated through her very core. "You have your weapon, Ooman?"

"Yes, mom..!" Brielle rolled her eyes as she placed a hand absentmindedly on the hilt of the sword that was sheathed on her left hip. "It's hard to forget it when you kept trying to kill me earlier..!"

"You will be grateful." She rolled her eyes again. He really is like a parent... The woman was pulled from her thoughts as they stepped out of the hallway and into a vast room that was large enough to be its own temple.

Stadium benches that looked as though they belonged in the Ancient Greek amphitheater lined the room on all walls and were leveled on top of one another several stories high. Each seat held a large, terrifying Yautja, and most of them showed their natural alien facial features to the world around them. Brielle's heart felt as though it sank to her feet as the blood rushed from her face and her mouth went dry. "I thought this was supposed to be a schoolyard brawl..!" Her grey eyes darted around as T'ahrou and O'kaor led her to a bordered area in the center of the arena.

It wasn't long before she caught sight of Dhadtoudi standing near a male; he was large next to the female, but small in comparison to O'kaor and T'ahrou. His eyes were a sparkling emerald green color and held a devilish ferocity that made it difficult to tell whether he was contemplating murder or if he was just a terrifying individual. T'ahrou clicked a phrase once more and O'kaor nodded once. "You must attack first, Brielle Ronaldi. You are the challenger. You must not allow Dhadtoudi any opportunity to retaliate."

"Seems simple enough..." The woman licked her lips nervously as she met Dhadtoudi's shielded gaze. "She can't be too quick, right?" O'kaor clicked now and T'ahrou created a sound that closely resembled a disagreeing groan.

O'kaor looked down at the human woman, his amber eyes appearing stoic and unreadable. "Approach the master. Pay your respects." With that said, the two males moved to the sidelines outside of the 'ring' and Brielle stepped silently towards the opposing Yautja. She craned her neck to look up at the male before she glanced quickly to the side, one last glimpse at Ghost before she did the first thing that came to her mind. Without hesitating, she placed her fist over her chest and bowed low at the waist. She stayed in this position for several seconds as the arena filled with loud clicks and growls.

Loud, sharp clicking sounds trilled from the masters throat while his head tilted to the side as he watched the strange being before him. When Brielle stood upright once more, chill bumps erupted throughout her body when she noticed the intense emerald orbs staring into her very soul. The master stepped to the side and lifted a hand in the air. The room fell silent as the creatures watched in anticipation; Dhadtoudi stepped forward until they were approximately three feet apart. Brielle gripped the sword tightly at her side until the master swiftly dropped his hand through the air and let loose a bellowing roar. **_"Dtai'kai'-dte!"_**

"STRIKE NOW!!" Brielle launched herself as soon as the words left O'kaor's mouth, and she made slashing motions toward Dhadtoudi's chest and abdomen with the disturbingly sharp blade. Before the woman could get halfway through an attack, already Dhadtoudi was moving out of the way.

She bent backward, folding her torso into a ninety degree angle with little effort or discomfort. Brielle's grey eyes widened in surprise before narrowing into frustrated slits. She tried instead to jab the weapon into the opposing female's gut, but Dhadtoudi reacted with a quick side-step and once again dodged the attack. Brielle sneered and swung the katana towards Dhadtoudi's legs, but as soon as the female began to move away, Brielle redirected her attack and slammed the metal against the side of Dhadtoudi's head.

The blade connected with a bone-chilling _SMACK_ , screeching as the it sliced along the bio-mask. Dhadtoudi spun quickly as the force of the blow knocked her off balance and her mask was launched from her head and skidded across the floor several feet away. Brielle was so surprised that her tactic had actually worked, she had been unable to react at first. Now Dhadtoudi was facing away, bent over at the waist as if trying to regain her senses as she held her head with one hand. Still, the arena was silent as a funeral...that is, until T'ahrou let out a fierce roar from his position alongside Ghost.

Slowly Dhadtoudi stood upright, her hand sliding ever so slowly from the side of her head that had received the blow to her face. "You...dare...strike me?!" She turned quickly, her dreadlocks arching with the motion, and Brielle took a step back. Soft mocha colored skin had been protected beneath the mask. It complimented nicely with the intense light grey eyes and snarling pearl white teeth...but there were no alien mandibles or tusks to be seen. There were no dull spines lining the edge of her face, and no reptilian leathery hide.

"You're human..?" Brielle took an involuntary step forward. "You're a fucking _human_?!"

"I am not like you!" She rushed Brielle now, leaping and tackling her to the ground. She straddled the woman's abdomen as as she unleashed a barrage of punches to her face. It didn't take much to coax the crimson lifeblood from Brielle's lips, cheek, and eyebrow. Dhadtoudi crinkled her nose at the metallic scent; it was not clean and crisp as hers was. This blood had a sickeningly sweet yet fatty aroma. Humans were not only insects beneath Yautja boots, but everything about them was dirty and revolting.

Dhadtoudi continued to waylay on the smaller female as the latter clawed at Dhadtoudi's unprotected face. "Why are you doing this?!" Brielle managed to get the words out as she struggled to free herself from her attacker, but Dhadtoudi held her firmly in place. She caught sight of the katana lying mere inches from her thigh, and Brielle contorted her upper body in such a manner that she was able to graze the hilt with her fingertips. Dhadtoudi let loose a threatening growl as she kicked the blade further from their bodies. The larger female's pupils were pinpoints as she pushed herself off of Brielle with enough force to knock the wind from the new-comer's lungs. Before she rose to her full height, Dhadtoudi grabbed a fistfull of Brielle's chestnut brown hair and began to drag her along the ground toward the crowd.

Some of the younger onlookers were voicing their anticipation at the strange aliens trying to duke it out with minimalistic grace, but T'ahrou and O'kaor stood motionless and silent at the edge of the fighting ground. "Dhadtoudi..! Stop!!"

Time passed slowly as Brielle grew desperate, blindly throwing punches back at Dhadtoudi before her fist felt something soft. _Her hair!_ Her thoughts were fleeting as she tried to grab the dreadlocks, but Dhadtoudi was quick to grab her hand and slam her own against Brielle's elbow in such a way that the joint dislocated with a sickening _POP_. Brielle cried out in pain as tears streaked her bloody, swollen cheeks. After what felt like an eternity, the sobbing woman felt the weight leave her abdomen and she rolled to her side as she cradled her injured limb.

"You are _nothing_ , Ooman..!" Dhadtoudi hissed the words before spitting on the injured female and turned to face the spectators. **_"Tarei'hasan!"_** Dhadtoudi spit again in the direction of the injured woman before exiting the fighting area with T'ahrou following after her.

Several Yautja erupted into growling whoops and cheers before finally funneling out of the _**Kehrite**_. Eventually O'kaor approached Brielle and knelt beside her crumpled body before snapping her elbow back into place. This elicited a muffled scream as she bit her swollen lip to fight against the pain. "You said she was supposed to kill me..!"

"She was."

"Then why didn't she?!"

"She spared your life...she proclaimed you to be an unworthy opponent."

"I swear to whatever god you pray to...I'm going to kill that little twatwaffle if it's the last thing I do!"


	27. 27

_"Why do you always call me Sarah?"_

_Brooks stood in the entrance to the kitchen of the apartment while Brielle prepared breakfast for the two of them. "There are times that you remind me of a friend I knew as a boy...sometimes the resemblance is so uncanny that I mistake you for her. I apologize, Brielle."_

_"Just how did you know this 'friend'?" She stirred the pancake batter with a little more intensity than was necessary before pouring some of it into a skillet that was heating on the stovetop._

_Gregory rubbed the back of his neck nervously as his blue eyes looked toward the floor. "I guess you could say she was a distant cousin...everyone thought she died in a fire, but her body was never recovered."_

————————————————————————

Brielle sat in the equivalent of the living room with what she could only imagine was an ice pack pressed against her swollen face. Her heart pounded as she recalled the events of the earlier fight, and O'kaor sat silently on the other side of the room as he tinkered with the holographic settings on his gauntlet. Zaiyu had returned and stood in the kitchen area, staring the woman down without making a sound.

Dhadtoudi and T'ahrou were nowhere to be found and the thought of the other female only irritated Brielle further. "So did they go to an after-party or what?"

"I do not understand."

He didn't look up from the device, and Brielle lowered her ice pack to reveal her severely bruised eye. "Do you understand _anything_?"

"I understand many things, _**pyode-amedha**_."

"That's not my name, Ghost..!"

"Just as that is not mine." She scoffed as she tossed the pack down beside her on the sofa and rubbed her temples with her fingertips. "Your pride is injured, yes?"

"Among other things, captain obvious." Zaiyu clicked softly now and O'kaor responded with a wave of his hand before returning to his previous task. "What the fuck did _he_ say?"

"Pay no attention to him."

"What the fuck did he say?!" O'kaor looked up slowly, his amber eyes narrowing into dangerous slits.

"Do not think that you are able to take such a tone when speaking to me." His voice was low and deadly as each word slowly left his mouth. "Dhadtoudi has given you a second chance of life among us, but I will not be so gracious."

"Then just tell me what he said!"

O'kaor's eyes narrowed again before he rose from his seated position and stepped toward the human, glaring down at her bloodshot eye. "I do not receive commands from you." She could feel her heart rate picking up speed as he stared down at her, unwavering in his defiance. A knot began to form in her stomach and Brielle stood up, the top of her head barely reaching the lower section of his chest.

"And you don't scare me." A deep growl reverberated through O'kaor's chest and the knot in Brielle's stomach tightened significantly. She could see his pupils dilate slightly as his mandibles flared and flicked through the air.

Zaiyu clicked again but O'kaor did not respond. The two stared one another down for several agonizing seconds before he finally turned and walked along the hallway. "Come, Brielle Ronaldi."

"Excuse you?" Her tone was disbelieving as she placed a stern hand on her hip.

"Fooolllooowww..." she turned at the botched English word that was forced from Zaiyu's throat. "Fooolllooowww..." he repeated, his emerald eyes seemingly piercing into her very soul.

Reluctantly, the woman did as she was instructed and followed the large creature down the hallways and to the right where they entered the bathroom with the oasis pool. Once she was inside the room, O'kaor sealed the door behind her and she turned to face him. "Now what? Is this where you kill me for running my mouth?"

"One death here is enough." His tone was flat and Brielle's heart seemed to skip a beat.

"Oh...I-I'm sorry. I didn't know..."

"I am aware." He turned to approach the side of the pool and retrieved a small, black, metallic jar. With the container in-hand, O'kaor approached Brielle and discarded the lid to the ground before dipping his index finger into the jar and pulled it back out to reveal a florescent green goopy substance on the tip of his finger. He attempted to smear the substance on her face, but Brielle staggered back in surprise and disgust. "Do not move."

"Don't touch me with that!"

Again he tried, and again she moved away. O'kaor's mandibles flared again as another growl rumbled through his broad chest. "Be still..!"

"No! What is that?! It smells horrible!"

"It will heal your wounds..!"

"I doubt that!" Without blinking O'kaor raised a clawed hand to an exposed portion of his abdomen and drug his claws across the skin, applying enough pressure to create even slices in the flesh.

Brilliant green blood trickled down his torso before soaking into his loincloth. The male seemed carefree as he swatched a layer of the glowing substance onto his fresh cuts and a disturbing sizzling sound filled the room. The smell of meat cooking reached Brielle's nostrils, but still the Yautja remained stoic, his eyes fixed on Brielle as she stared at his muscular stomach. Small streams of smoke trailed up from the substance, and after a few seconds he reached down to cup a handful of water from the pool into his hand and used it to rinse off the salve and blood. Brielle gasped softly as her grey eyes widened when she spotted the freshly formed scars on his body. They looked as if they had been there for years, barely noticeable amidst the speckled skin of his body. "Okay...you called my bluff." She looked up at him, noting the strange glint in his eyes. "Does it hurt?"

"You fear pain?"

"I wouldn't say that..." He scooped another layer onto his index finger and reached out toward her face, stopping just short of the contact point. Taking a deep breath she leaned in, allowing O'kaor to smudge the gel onto her eyebrow.

She hissed in pain and fought the urge to pull away. Her eyes burned with the threat of tears...or maybe the smell of burnt hair; she couldn't be sure which. After a moment he withdrew his hand and gathered more salve. This time he placed it on her cheek. Again she winced, but a soft clicking sound reached her ears and drowned out the sound of the cauterized skin. It was a blend between clicks and a large wildcat purring; strange yet relaxing. She focused on the sound as he continued to doctor her injuries, eventually working his way down to her lips. Ever so gently his fingertip pressed against the plump pink tissue and delicately spread the gel across the largest cut.

Her lips parted slowly as she inhaled sharply, but she never pulled away. The sound grew louder before it completely drowned out the sound of her skin burning together. Once every break in her lips was covered, he scooped up more water and slowly poured it out over her forehead. The liquid trickled down the top of her face, over her eyes, down her nose, trailed along her cheeks, and along her parted lips before finally dripping away from her chin and falling to the floor. He easily wiped away the leftover residue with his thumb, again taking the time to clear her lips.

A sweet scent mixed with the air; O'kaor could taste it as he breathed. His mandibles flicked to draw in more of the aroma, his pupils shrinking to pinpoints as he did so. The human's warm breath was shaky against his forearm, and she finally opened her eyes to reveal small droplets of water clinging to the long, dark lashes that surrounded her shimmering grey eyes.

"Who died?"

O'kaor blinked several times before his head cocked to the side in confusion. "What?"

"You said someone died in here. Who was it?" He blinked several more times, and Brielle promptly waved her hands in front of her chest. "Sorry, sorry. That must sound so insensitive...I'm sorry." She looked around, desperately searching for a way out of the awkward situation that she had created. "Hey, is it alright if I take a bath? I...I kind of need one after today." O'kaor nodded once, and Brielle pressed her lips into a tight line. "Can you...can you turn around or step out or something? I feel weird undressing in front of you."

"You have done so on your planet." Brielle's cheeks flushed a deep red color as she remembered the times she had stripped down to nothing but her underwear (and often times her lace thongs) to better handle the excruciating heat of her laboratory.

"Yeah, but...t-that was different." Still his head remained tilted. "You aren't...I mean, back then we thought you were..." she struggled to find the right words but ultimately sighed in defeat. She turned to face the deep end of the pool, her back to O'kaor as she awkwardly tugged the sports bra-like top over her head and discarded it to the floor. "Do your people just not care about privacy?"

She leaned over to pull the spandex shorts down over her hips and along her legs until they lay at her feet. "Yautja do not feel shame of their appearance." She hummed thoughtfully as she stepped out of the fabric and tried to discreetly cover her rear with her hands as she padded toward the water. "You feel shame?"

"Not shame. Just...vulnerable...exposed."

"Vulnerability creates fear. Fear creates weakness. Weakness brings death."

Brielle eased her body into the warm water, leaning her head back to rest against the side of the bath as she closed her eyes in an attempt to forget her observer. "And because Yautja feel no shame, they survive."

A loud, slow clicking sound filled the room now. "You learn quickly, **_pyode-amedha_**." Gentle waves moved against her collarbone and Brielle's eyes fluttered open before growing wide in surprise. She jumped slightly as she realized O'kaor had piled his armor near her own clothes and silently made his way into the water as well. Brielle's face turned beet red from one ear to the other, her breath catching in her throat as she slowly looked down to confirm her fear: O'kaor was naked.

"Ghost, what the _fuck are you doing_?!" Her voice was a squeaky whisper, but he didn't seem to notice or care as he propped his forearms on the edge of the bath to either side of him.

"Surviving."


	28. 28

Brielle sat atop her mattress, dressed in the black slip dress that O'kaor had retrieved from Zaiyu when he'd finally left her to bathe alone. Her thoughts kept wandering back to the being that had formerly been the pinnacle of her life's work. So strange it was to see him interacting with herself and others so similarly to how humans would interact with one another. Back on earth he had been so reserved...so intimidating...but here and now, she did not fear him. Perhaps the day of their escape had been the turning point of their encounter. He had stood inches from her; no restraints, no guards, no weapons to defend her. Yet he did not attack her. _It was a rouse..._ she told herself. _It was all a show to appear compliant for the soldiers._ Even more intriguing was the fact that O'kaor had held up his end of their 'imaginary' pact. In return for aiding in his escape, he had brought her back to his planet. Granted she had been beaten nearly to a pulp within the first twelve hours of arriving, but he had brought her along nonetheless.

Dhadtoudi was another mystery all in herself. She was human, or at least appeared to be. Was she a hybrid? Were there others? How did she come to be on this strange planet? The sound of the access panel on her door pulled her from her thoughts. The device slid open to reveal Zaiyu holding a plate of fruit and what appeared to resemble fish, and his amber eyes darted quickly around the room before he stepped inside. He held the plate towards her and she gratefully accepted the offering with a nod of the head.

Zaiyu looked around once more before turning to exit the room. "Zaiyu," he stopped at the sound of his name, "Do you speak English as well?" Soft clicks were her answer. "Did Dhadtoudi teach you the words that you know?"

He turned now at his sister's name. "Dhadtoudi..." He began, "strooonnnggg. Fiiiggghhhttt..." Brielle pursed her lips at his words. Was he trying to metaphorically rub her nose in her loss? Was he trying to console her? Was he trying to say 'this planet ain't big enough for two Oomans'?

”Yes." Her response was forced and curt. "Yes, she is strong in a fight."

"Dhadtoudi...thhhiiiccckkk...skkkuuullllll." Brielle chuckled loud and amused now.

”Yeah, she does seem hardheaded." Zaiyu's mandibles contorted in a strange way now and she wondered if he was trying to smile. "Thank you, Zaiyu." She placed her fist over her heart and bowed at the waist which earned another trill of clicks from the warrior.

It was then that she saw T'ahrou move past the doorway with Dhadtoudi following behind. The taller female didn't acknowledge Brielle in any way, shape, or form, and it made her blood boil all over again.

Zaiyu looked over his shoulder and flicked his mandibles through the air. After a moment he turned his attention back to Brielle and returned her salute before leaving her to her devices, the door sealing closed behind him.

Brielle sat in the silence for a long moment, looking down at her plate as she prodded a piece of fish with her finger. It was whole, even the eyes remained in the sockets. She nearly gagged when she pressed against its side and one of the eyes bulged to the point it seemed as if it might pop out completely. The woman opted instead to eat the fruit and bit into a piece that resembled watermellon, but cringed when the overwhelming taste of cucumber flooded her tastebuds.

After powering through the unusual taste surprise, she picked up a berry that looked like a purple raspberry with bright blue polka dots all over. She observed the berry, then smelled it to detect any strange flavor that might be lurking behind its unusual appearance, and finally placed it in her mouth to chew. The taste of kiwi was a heavenly relief. She devoured the berries before moving on to try other various food items on the plate as she stood to move about the room.

Countless skulls of various sizes lined the walls, including one that resembled a very, very large ' _ **kiande-amedha**_ ', as Ghost had referred to it. Had this room's purpose been to serve as a trophy room? No, there wouldn't be a bed or any of the other leisurely items if it had. Perhaps a dormitory of sorts?

Once she had cleared her plate, Brielle placed it on what she reasoned to be the nightstand and lay on the bed to curl up beneath the fur blanket. Her body ached and her mind was tired, so when the weight of sleep began to creep along her body, she didn't resist. Giving into the darkness, the woman succumbed to a deep, dreamless slumber.


	29. 29

**_"O'kaor, why must you bring it with you everywhere you go?"_** Dhadtoudi called down from the treetops of the jungle forest. The male looked back at the human female that was struggling to keep up with their pace before turning his attention back up to Dhadtoudi from behind his eye shields.

**_"I imagine the same reason T'ahrou keeps to your side."_ **

T'ahrou deactivated his cloaking shield to reveal his squatting position on a branch a few meters behind his mate. **_"I do so to prevent her untimely demise."_**

**_"And if members of the clan wish to destroy someone who has been raised alongside our people...who knows and understands our ways...what makes you believe that they would not wish the same on an outsider?"_ **

Dhadtoudi dropped to the ground and landed in a crouched position before standing to her full height in front of the male. **_"Any member of the Dark Blade Clan that has any amount of honor will not waste their time or energy on the Ooman. It is not worthy."_**

**_"By the word of another pyode-amedha."_** Dhadtoudi's nose crinkled as her grey eyes narrowed into slits. ** _"You may be a Blooded member of the clan...status does not change biological facts, Dhadtoudi."_**

"What...is she saying, Ghost?" Brielle's exhausted voice carried through the trees to the rest of the group. "I'm...going...as fast...as I can. This...this humidity...is a lot worse...than what I'm used to on earth."

Dhadtoudi rolled her eyes at the smaller female's statement. ** _"Why is it this slow? The Oomans we found were not like this. It has to be broken."_**

**_"She is healing."_** Dhadtoudi gave O'kaor a look that insinuated she was waiting for his explanation. **_"The female received a severe injury not long after I arrived on the planet. She had only been able to walk for a few days before you and T'ahrou arrived. It will take time to build her strength and stamina back up to what is was before, and even longer to be on par with Yautja."_**

**_"We cannot place a hold on our lives to accommodate your Ooman. You know this."_ **

**_"There is no need to do that. It is not necessary that she be a warrior as she was before."_ **

Dhadtoudi scoffed now. **_"What will you have her be then? She has limited uses, O'kaor."_**

Brielle jogged slowly the rest of the distance to the three Yautja (one of which still held a vantage point in the trees above), and tried desperately to catch her breath when she stopped. Her face was a deep shade of red that branched down to her neck and chest as she panted while holding her hands on her hips. "Sorry...so what...what are we talking about?"

Dhadtoudi's narrow eyes shifted to the gasping human as she folded her arms over her chest. "O'kaor's mate."

"What?!" Brielle's eyes went wide before she leaned forward and braced her hands against her thighs, still panting as she did so. "I didn't know you had a mate..!"

"Did you ever ask him, Ooman?" O'kaor's amber eyes honed in on Dhadtoudi as she leaned around his massive body to get a better look at the frantic human.

"N-no...I don't think...I don't think I ever did. Not for real, anyway. That's...that my bad. _Whoo_...sorry, Ghost."

"I have no mate."

"Not yet." Dhadtoudi corrected him. "T'ahrou has a female in mind for you. If Paya shows favor in you, it will happen soon."

"What's a Paya?" Brielle began to slow her breathing now and was able to stand back up for a brief moment. "There's a fruit on earth called a pa-paya ."

O'kaor kept his eyes trained on Dhadtoudi, and she kept hers on Brielle. "Paya is to us as we were to your people."

"Is...is it like a deity?" He nodded once. "Oh. Got it. Hey...quick question...does anybody have any...water?" Dhadtoudi cocked her head to the side as she watched Brielle wiping infinite beads of sweat from her face and neck. "I...I think I'm getting...I'm getting overheated..."

Dhadtoudi threw her head around dramatically as she turned to walk away from the distressed woman, and T'ahrou called down to O'kaor. ** _"Take her to the river. We will wait for you at the rendezvous point."_** O'kaor nodding in understanding and gestured for the female to follow him as T'ahrou leapt after Dhadtoudi.

O'kaor could tell the scientist was struggling to keep up, even with his leisurely pace. "You will stay by that tree." He pointed to a nearby jungle tree that had been overtaken by vines. "I will return with water."

"No way...I-I'm coming with you. I just...I just need a second to...to catch my breath..." She collapsed on the ground, and O'kaor promptly sent a distress signal to the others with his gauntlet. Within seconds they had arrived, and Dhadtoudi was less than thrilled (and even less surprised) to find that the reason for the hail was the weak female.

**_"You cannot make it even one minute with her on your own?" She asked incredulously. "I know their kind is bothersome, but did you REALLY have to kill it?"_ **

**_"I didn't kill her..!"_ **

T'ahrou poked her sweaty face with the hilt of his dagger. ** _"Then what did you do?"_**

**_"I did nothing! I told her to wait and I would bring the water!"_ **

T'ahrou pointed to an area of Brielle's neck, just behind her ear. **_"There. Do you see that?"_** A thin line of purple marked a small epidermal abrasion on her reddened skin. ** _"It's the toxin from a Dhi'ki-de plant. It causes heat flashes and paralysis...she either used the leaves to dry herself, or one of the thorns scraped her when she was walking through the foliage."_** T'ahrou looked up at O'kaor now. **_"Did you warn her about which plants to avoid?"_**

O'kaor clicked softly as he avoided eye contact with the larger male, and Dhadtoudi shoved him with more force than he believed her to be capable of. **_"Why are males so inconsiderate?! First Zaiyu disappears for weeks at a time because he is off rutting his mate on a hunting trip, and then YOU bring an OOMAN to our planet without bothering to have the decency of telling her 'if you touch this you will probably die'..!"_**

**_"Why are you angry? I was under the impression that you hated the female."_ **

**_"Your stupidity is what angers me!"_ **

T'ahrou lifted a clawed hand to silence his counterparts as he sheathed his dagger against his hip. **_"You can argue later. She needs a healer. She may have adverse effects from the toxin."_**

**_"Because paralysis isn't an 'adverse effect'?"_** T'ahrou cast a stern glance at his mate, and for once she remained silent.

**_"She is not reacting as you did when you were infected. She may be having an allergic reaction."_ **

**_"So take her to Aytu,"_** she retorted, **_"but I am not carrying her there."_** Seemingly for added emphasis from a higher being, vomit and foam began to force its way from between Brielle's lips as she convulsed on the ground.


	30. 30

Warmth covered her body as Brielle felt as though she was floating in mid-air. She could hear voices, but they were warped. She wanted to open her eyes but found that her mobility was limited. She could feel something tugging uncomfortably at her arms near her wrists, her neck, and her abdomen. _Intravenous lines..._ she thought as she tried to figure out why she would be hooked up to such devices. _The jungle...I must have passed out. I haven't taken my meds in...I don't know how long it's been._

A sharp beeping sound reached her ears; buttons were being pushed to her right. _Where am I? Where did they take me? Where are Ghost and the others?_ She could hear growling now, and her heart seemed to skip a beat. Dhadtoudi...that had to be her voice. She tried to open her eyes again, but still she failed. Her lids felt as though they were glued together and layered with cement for added effectiveness. _That's one, but where are the other two?_

Suddenly her body felt as if she were growing heavier by the second, and her hair began to fall against her chest, shoulders, and back. _What's happening? Why am I falling?_ Before she knew it, Brielle could feel a smooth, cool surface against the side of her arm. _I can't feel my legs...I can't move..._

"Wake up, Ooman." She wanted to frown at Dhadtoudi's harsh voice, but still she couldn't control her own body. "Are you deaf now? Do not try to fake an injury and blame it on me. O'kaor, your Ooman is more defective than you thought." _Ghost? Where is he? I want to see him. He's the only one that can understand me and isn't an asshole._

A deep trill of clicks followed her statement, and Dhadtoudi scoffed. "It is not my fault that the _**pyode-amedha**_ is broken..!"

_Why do they keep calling me that? Does it mean 'female'?_ _Ghost used that term when he was talking about Dhadtoudi, so maybe it does...or maybe it means 'human'. But if that means 'human', what does 'Ooman' mean? I haven't been this confused since my college boyfriend revealed that he was a woman..._

A sharp pain radiated through her arm and fire seemed to spread through her veins. At long last her grey eyes shot wide open as she gasped for air and crumpled over in pain. Her body lay in the remnants of a transparent jelly-like substance as she began to cough and vomit more of the substance onto the floor. A mechanical whoosh echoed through the room and Brielle looked up to see Dhadtoudi and O'kaor standing over her while another, smaller male approached from behind them. He was dressed in a metal loincloth that hung atop a pair of leather shogun type pants, a gauntlet on each forearm, and the tell-tale metal boots that his comrades both donned.

The new male seemed older and more muscular than T'ahrou or O'kaor, the spikes on his face and chest longer than theirs, as well as his dreadlocks. "You withheld information, Ooman." Brielle glowered at Dhadtoudi as she spoke with her arms folded over her chest in the same stern manner as she seemed to do so often.

"What...w-what the hell...are...you talking about?" Brielle managed to voice her question between the chokes and gags, but Dhadtoudi only appeared more agitated. Since she had given up her plan of always staying masked when around the scientist, Brielle had come to recognize the taller woman's undeniable condition of R.B.F..

"You are defective."

"Y-you can...kiss my ass." Brielle choked again before vomiting more of the clear substance and clearly striking a nerve with Dhadtoudi. "I'm _not_ a fucking _defect_."

Dhadtoudi clicked harshly without moving her gaze from the sickly woman, and the new male responded in kind. "Your gland." She pointed to the area where her neck meets her lower jawbone. "Your heart. Defective. Correct your false truth."

Brielle sneered at the woman who responded with a deep, rumbling growl. "It's _hereditary_."

"Your bloodline is defective." The question sounded more like a statement than anything else, and again Brielle scowled at her. "You know of it, yet you do nothing to correct it." Again a question in the form of a statement, and Brielle tried to push herself to her hands and knees now. "Do you wish to die?"

"The heart issue is caused from the excess of hormones produced by my thyroid. I ran out of my medication a few days before Ghost was brought to my lab. I wasn't able to get to a pharmacy to get a refill, but my heart hadn't been acting up, so I figured it was okay for now."

"And what would you have done had you experienced difficulties later on?"

Brielle narrowed her grey eyes at the woman who returned her own heated, grey gaze. "What does it matter to you?"

"Your well-being is not my concern. The healer needs information and O'kaor does not understand enough to translate your medical...how do the Oomans say... _bullshit_." Brielle said nothing as she stared daggers into the other woman, and Dhadtoudi spoke over her shoulder to O'kaor. "Have the healer remove the feeds. If she wishes to die, then we will allow her that freedom."

"Why do you hate me so much?"

"Because your kind are all the same." Her tone was low and harsh, but Brielle didn't waver in her own defiance. "You feel as though you must get all that you desire and if something does not end how you intend, you take your frustration out on others. You make others suffer for your displeasure."

"Isn't that exactly what you're doing to me?!" Brielle was finally able to force herself to stand though she was extremely weak as she did so. "Since the first time you saw me, you've done nothing but be a stuck up _bitch_ and act like an overgrown child! So what's your problem 'mighty warrior'? Is your ego just that big, or are you just that embarrassed to admit that you're _human_? I think it's the fact that you can't - or _won't_ accept the fact that you're not really one of these amazing beings...you're just a human...you'll _always_ be human. You'll _always_ be like _me_. And I don't think you're mentally stable enough to accept that fact."

Once she'd finished speaking, Brielle began to pull the intravenous lines from her own body but kept her gaze firmly set on Dhadtoudi's eyes. They seemed dark and sunken in, and the usually white sclera seemed tinted red. "You call yourself a scholar of science, yet you know so little of what you speak."


	31. 31

Aychu sat in the gathering area of the dwelling as she listened to Dhadtoudi yelling from T'ahrou's quarters. She growled in annoyance as she wished her brother had let her remain in her hunting grounds so she would not have been forced to listen to the pyode-amedha's tantrums. _And here I believed only one was irritating on its own...yet she is significantly worse when she is around others of her kind._ She thought back to the time that they had traveled with Elder Tah'kath to the Ooman planet, and Dhadtoudi had become rather hostile toward the others of her kind. The trip had ended in a bloodbath and the honorary Yautja had returned with a sour taste permanently burned into her mind from the experience.

The young female Yautja sighed in blatant irritation while she tried to block out the one-sided "conversation". She leaned back in her seat and distracted herself with thoughts of her recent hunting trip. She had travelled to a nearby planet to hunt giant worm creatures covered in spikes, and she had made a point to send daily reports and vital updates back to the clan. She had been thriving in her newfound independence and had taken many a trophy during her weeks in the new territory, and her anger had been great when T'ahrou had arrived with human in-tow to bring her back to the mother planet.

_"I've sent the reports, T'ahrou!"_

_"Nothing was received. If you had used your common sense, you would have thought to run diagnostics on all of your systems to make sure your ship wasn't damaged on entry."_ Aychu frowned at the thought of her elder brother's words, but the thought was soon drowned out by the sound of Dhadtoudi once again.

Since their return, Dhadtoudi's adoptive brother Zaiyu had worked to repair whatever technological device had been damaged during her less than graceful landing procedure, and he himself had suffered his own scolding from the human woman. Not long before Aychu had set off on her adventures, Zaiyu had departed on his own hunt and taken a female with him. This female was one he had been courting as a potential mate, and once they were alone on a foreign planet, they spent tireless weeks doing nothing but rutting, only stopping to hunt when they required nutrition. Because of his "distracting activities", he had simply failed to acknowledge the countless hails sent from his alien sibling and thus threw her into a frenzied panic. The blended expression of rage and relief on her face must have been priceless when she walked in on them red-handed.

The voices on the opposite end of the dwelling fell silent and Aychu growled once more; she knew what was to follow. She had smelled the tangy sweet aroma of the oils that T'ahrou had sneaked to his quarters earlier in the day, and she knew it would only be a matter of time before they were in a heated session of stress and anger-relieving mating. The female pushed herself to her feet and made her way to the exit. Dealing with the humans in a social setting was hard enough and she definitely didn't want to listen to their strange mating calls.

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High atop a tree the female sat on a branch, watching as tiny fury and scaly creatures scuttled around on the ground below. From time to time she would toss her throwing stars near a group of them to make them scatter in fear, tasting the scent of their emotion on the air. "You have nothing better to do, descendant of Yahti?" Her emerald eyes looked up as Zaiyu's form was revealed from the waning camouflage device. She snorted once before tossing another throwing star to the jungle floor below. "Why are you out here like this?"

"Your SISTER has invaded our dwelling for the hundredth time this week. I do not wish to listen to her Ooman screams anymore than I have already." Zaiyu clicked thoughtfully as he moved to sit alongside the young female.

"Dhadtoudi offends you?"

"Her voice offends my ears." A soft chuckle rumbled through Zaiyu's chest now. "Do you not grow tired of it?"

"I have learned to ignore it...to tune it out just as I would expect her to do so if the roles were reversed." Zaiyu watched as Aychu continued her emotional torment of the 'belly-crawlers' as he had so deemed them as a pup, and his amber eyes tracked her every movement from behind his optical shields. "Under normal circumstances the male would acquire his own dwelling, a proper mating ritual would ensue, and then the female would officially join him as his mate."

"I would not consider these circumstances to be 'normal'." Zaiyu shook his head in agreement with the female. "What does Ooman tradition dictate?"

"I do not know...our father was the only one with any sort of extensive, relevant information regarding pyode-amedha life. Though I have no idea as to how he ascertained his knowledge."

Aychu seemed to ponder a thought for several seconds before placing a firm fist rapidly against Zaiyu's bicep. "Let's take her back to the Ooman world! Let them figure her out!" Zaiyu's eyes blazed with fury behind his mask and Aychu seemed to be aware of the metaphorical daggers that were being cast into her skull. "I joke, Blooded One..!" A long, heavy silence passed between them as Aychu swung her feet through the open air. "Unless you believe it would work, that is...I need a break from all of the screaming."


	32. 32

_"Dhadtoudi, rumor has it that you wish to speak with me..?" The large male stepped into the child's quarters as his red cape flowed with each step. A small human child, about the age of thirteen or fourteen sat on her bedding with her knees tucked beneath her chin._

_Her little head tilted up to meet the amber gaze of the Yautja as her brow furrowed atop her grey eyes. "Zaiyu was not supposed to interfere."_

_"I did not hear it from Zaiyu. Where I acquired the information is not important...now, what was it you wanted to speak about? I have much to do." The child's little fingers twitched nervously, and the behemoth of a warrior stepped closer to examine the young human. "Why are you so frightened?"_

_"I am not."_

_"Do not tell false truths, Dhadtoudi." His tone was low and threatening as he spoke now. "I can hear your heart beating in your chest. I can hear the rhythm change when you say something that is not true. I will ask again: why are you frightened?"_

_The child lowered her eyes to stare at the ground as her adoptive sire waited patiently while his mandibles slowly flicked through the air. She fidgeted beneath his intense gaze, but finally she took a deep breath and dropped to the floor on her knees before doubling over to place her forehead against the floor. It was a submissive posture that Yautja often used when showing the utmost respect due a superior while also begging them to hear their requests. "Please teach me to be a proper warrior."_

_The aged male narrowed his amber eyes in thought as he watched the small alien spawn. She remained in the submissive position, completely still as she awaited his response. "No." She moved now. Raising from her knelt position, the youth's heart beat irregularly in her small chest as her brow furrowed in confusion. "You realize to become a TRUE warrior you must fight kiande-amedha?"_

_"I know this..! I accept this! Why do you decline?!"_

_"Females are not required to complete the chiva."_

_"WHAT ELSE AM I TO DO?!" Her grey eyes sparkled with wet tears, the normally white sclera reddening with her frustration. "I WILL NOT BEAR PUPS! I WILL NOT BE A MOTHER! I AM NOT ALLOWED TO PURSUE THE SCIENCES! WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE ME DO, ELDER?!"_

_The Elder took a threatening step toward the female, his eyes narrowing into slits. "Hold your tongue! You will not show such blatant dishonor!"_

_"I AM NOT ONE OF YOU, CORRECT?! WHY MUST I FOLLOW YOUR TRADITIONS IF I AM NOT ONE OF YOUR CLAN?!"_

_A bellowing roar was her answer, and despite her obviously annoyed expression the child opted to silence her argumentative opinions. "You are Dhadtoudi. Descendant of Tah'kath." Still the girl said nothing, and the Elder stood tall as he squared his shoulders away. "You will attend training alongside the other pups of our clan until you are of age to participate in the Chiva. You will bring back the skull of a warrior kiande-amedha, and you will prove to the others that I was not mistaken in my opinions of you."_

————————————————————————

Dhadtoudi awoke to the lack of body heat that was normally produced by her mate. She sat up, looking around the darkness as her groggy eyes adjusted to the lack of light. After a moment she was able to make out the barely visible shadowy figure standing about three meters away, it's amber eyes shining ever so slightly despite the lack of light in the room. She could see no outline of armor; he had moved from the bedding only moments before and had been making his silent escape before her body reacted to his absence.

"T'ahrou..." Dhadtoudi groaned as she turned to dangle her lower legs off the side of the bed, her elbows resting on her knees as her hands tried to rub the sleepiness from her eyes.

"Go back to sleep. I will return soon."

"Where are you going? Why so early?" Silence reached her ears and she fought to restrain the excessive attitude that often plagued her in the early mornings. "Why do you insist on sneaking out? You know how I feel about that."

"Your suspicions are misplaced, Dhadtoudi."

"Then why do you continue to do it?" She breathed deep for a moment to calm her nerves and rising heart rate; she could hear the frustration growing in her own tone. "Please, just tell me where you are going."

Soft clicks made their way from T'ahrou's throat as the enormous male stood motionless,watching his mate in the darkness. "O'kaor has requested that I escort the female to the markets."

Dhadtoudi froze mid-eye-rub, her body going rigid as she took in his words. "'The female'..?" She repeated slowly as a question. T'ahrou clicked for verification. "As in the _soft meat_ female?" Another click. "Why must _you_ escort her? Why can he not?" She didn't try to hide the tone now. She wanted him to know and acknowledge her frustration with the situation.

"O'kaor will be with his apprenticeship master for the next several days. He requested that I-"

"Absolutely not." She cut T'ahrou off mid-sentence and slid from atop the bed to stand at her full height. "I do not approve."

"Would you have her be attacked?"

"Assassination attempts are good for you every so often. They build character while keeping you on your toes."

"Your jealousy is foolish and based off of pyode-amedha superstition."

Her grey eyes narrowed as she stared daggers into the amber orbs that shone in the darkness. "You believe it to be superstitious?!"

"It is a paranoid Ooman belief!" The slang term pierced her gut like a knife that was being twisted and scraped around inside her body.

"DOES THE MARK UPON MY FACE NOT SERVE AS EVIDENCE ENOUGH THAT I AM NOT ONE OF THEM?!" T'ahrou did not provide an answer, and Dhadtoudi scoffed in frustrated disappointment. "I believed that you of all would be able to see past my skin and acknowledge the Yautja fire that burns inside my soul...I realize now that that belief was also misplaced." Without saying another word she moved to walk past the looming male, activating the control panel to their room before stepping through the doorway and into the dim red lighting of the corridor.


	33. 33

Brielle searched the hidden wall compartment that served somewhat as a display case/refrigerator and crinkled her nose at the variety of items placed inside. Everything was still so strange to her; some of what she assumed to be fruit was live creatures, and some of what she hoped to be meat almost appeared rancid, yet it smelled delightful. Likely the unpleasant appearance was due to its alien nature, yet she decided not to test her luck. Sealing the compartment once more, she turned and fought the urge to jump when she was face to face with Dhadtoudi.

"HOLY SH...hey..! I thought you weren't going to be back for a few days?"

"My plan was altered." Her flat tone and intense gaze made the shorter woman uncomfortable, but she hoped it didn't show much. Dhadtoudi's eyes shifted from Brielle to the food compartment, and then back to Brielle. "You do not approve of the options."

The question sounded more like an emotionless statement, and at mention of the device, the scientist side stepped to get out of the way. "It's not that, I just don't know what's what." Dhadtoudi reached over and activated the panel once more, leaning down to investigate its contents.

"'What's...What...'" Dhadtoudi repeated the phrase slowly, and Brielle mentally face-palmed.

"It's an expression. I don't know what anything is. I can't tell meat from fruit from... _living things_ in there."

"Nothing in here is alive. That," she said gesturing to a black sludge that seemed to be reaching out for anything near it, "is a phantom nerve response from the parasite. It latches onto a large, carnivorous avian creature for years at a time. The parasite takes in the flavors of the host, and the host remains disease free."

Disease free...does the parasite carry the disease to the consumer?" Dhadtoudi looked over her shoulder slightly without answering, and Brielle mentally face palmed once more. "T-the being that eats it..?"

A sharp click sounded from Dhadtoudi as her eyes returned to the wall compartment. "No, though you should not ingest it. Our stomach acid is not strong enough to digest the parasite's body. It would latch on to your stomach lining and eat you from the inside out." Brielle cringed at the thought. "And do not consume this..." she pointed to the rancid meat-looking stuff. "It is a delicacy among fruits, but the acidity will likely make you feel as though your throat is burning with fire and you will vomit profusely until your body is rid of it."

"Don't mess with the sludge monster or expired meat-fruit. Got it." She gave a thumbs up for emphasis, but Dhadtoudi seemed to ignore it. Suddenly she reached inside and pulled out a bright orange watermelon-looking object, and sealed the container before turning and placing the melon on the nearby countertop.

Dhadtoudi pulled a sharp, serrated dagger from her hip and placed the blade against the melon's hard outer shell with the tip of the metal pushing into the brightly colored rind. Brielle looked inquisitively at the dagger, taking notice of the intricate swooping tribal-like designs upon the hilt and base of the blade, as well as strange engravings that she vaguely recognized to be the aliens' written language.

With a thunderous CRACK the dagger penetrated the orange melon and sliced nearly to the base of the fruit. A deep purple colored juice began to leak and drip from both objects, and a strong scent of kiwi and passion fruit swirled in the air. Brielle's stomach growled as she took in the scent and for a moment she feared Dhadtoudi would chastise her for it...but to her surprise the taller, more muscular woman remained focused on her task. "Dhadtoudi..." a soft click was her response. "If I offended you when we first met, I'm sorry. It wasn't my intention."

"Apologize again, and I will cut your tongue from your throat." A cold chill ran along the smaller woman's body, but she fought to ignore it. She watched as her counterpart sliced away at the strange treat and began to place them before Brielle. Her grey eyes shifted from the melon with deep purple flesh, strange citrus scents, and what appeared to be pomegranate seeds to look up at the still-focused anomaly that was the other female. "If you wish to say something, speak. I am no mind-reader."

"What does 'Ooman' mean?" Dhadtoudi hesitated in her movements; it was a brief, barely noticeable action, but it was there. "I have a feeling it means more than 'person from earth'."

Dhadtoudi placed the dagger on the countertop with a little more force than was necessary, though it was not inherently rough. "Ooman is a word that is not a real word in our language."

"Like a slang term?" Dhadtoudi held an expressionless gaze now, and Brielle crossed her feet over one another as she leaned forward to rest against the elevated countertop. "It's like...there's this word: 'ain't'. It's used by a lot of people, but it's not considered a true 'word' in the English language." Dhadtoudi seemed to mull this over in her mind before slowly and ever so slightly nodding as if she understood. "Is 'Ooman' that kind of word?" Dhadtoudi nodded again. "Okay, so what does it mean?"

"What does _your_ word mean?" Brielle smiled slightly at the question and stood upright once more.

"So imagine I say something like..." she channeled her heaviest, most backwoods hillbilly accent that she could muster, "'I ain't gonna slaughter that thur dadgum pig over yonder, Jedediah..!' Essentially it would mean 'I won't slaughter that pig over there, Jedediah'." Dhadtoudi's brow furrowed as her nose crinkled in confusion. "It's a really intricate vocabulary system...so what does _your_ word mean? I told you mine...now you tell me yours."

Dhadtoudi's expression returned to her normal almost angry look, never moving her grey eyes from the smaller woman. "If we are speaking of your kind...we say 'pyode-amedha'. But if we say 'Ooman', it is meant to insult."

"So what you're telling me is that you were saying it to be mean?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I do not like your kind."

Brielle folded her arms over her chest with a disbelieving expression gracing her features. "You realize you're grouped in with my kind, right?" Dhadtoudi made a sound in her throat that made Brielle believe the translation would roughly come across as 'don't insult me', and the latter forced a sad smile. "Why do you hate humans so much? Or am I the only one you don't like because you haven't met any others?"

"I have met others. I did not...like...them."

"Care to explain?"

Dhadtoudi pushed the slices of melon toward the woman and got to work cleaning her blade. "You will eat. You speak in excess." Brielle grinned mischievously before lifting a large slice of fruit to her mouth and bit a large chunk right out of the middle. Her grey eyes went wide and her throat tightened at the immense sour flavor that suddenly flooded her senses. It tasted horribly of lime and under-ripe persimmons, but with a bold mango aftertaste. Dhadtoudi forced back a hearty chuckle as Brielle cringed from the overwhelming flavor. "I admit...you are the most entertaining of all the pyode-amedha that I have seen."

Brielle forced a smile as well before forcing the horrid taste combination down her throat. "I'll take that as a compliment."


	34. 34

_**"You left them alone?"**_ T'ahrou nodded once in response to the smaller male who in turn clicked nervously. _**"How severe do you believe the damage will be?"**_

**_"To the dwelling or one another?"_ **

****

**_"All of them..! You know how Dhadtoudi is with the pyode-amedha..!"_** They walked through the darkness alongside one another, T'ahrou with a leather pack draped over his shoulder and the stacked dwelling coming into sight in the distance.

Again T'ahrou nodded. _**"Yes. I also know Dhadtoudi nearly ripped my throat out when she learned I was tasked with escorting your little soft meat around the territory. I told her the best compromise would be that I go alone while she watches over your captor."**_

A deep grumble sounded from O'kaor's chest as he shook his head side to side in frustration and caused his tresses to arch sharply through the air. **_"She did not capture me. And how should you know what the female would need without having her there?"_**

**_"Do you forget that Dhadtoudi also is earth-born?"_** Soft, thoughtful clicks echoed through the air as the smaller of the two thought on this. **_"I am not so unknowing that I am clueless as to what my mate requires for daily function. And logic would stand to reason that your pyode-amedha would require the same items as well."_**

Several minutes passed silently between them as they walked until finally O'kaor looked up at his comrade once more. **_"What do you think we'll find when we get there?"_**

**_"I told Dhadtoudi to work on her patience and tolerance in regards to the female. We can only hope that she took my request to heart. If not...there will likely be blood...lots of it."_ **

———————————————————————

The hour was late when T'ahrou and O'kaor entered the dwelling that was shared by Zaiyu and Dhadtoudi. They were surprised to find the lights on in the gathering area so late into the night, but even more shocking was the sight of the two females sitting cross legged on the floor, opposite one another with a bottle of c'ntlip between them. Both women had bright red complexions about their cheeks and necks, and Dhadtoudi leaned toward the smaller woman with a mischievous grin on her face.

_**"S'yuit-de..."**_ she spoke the word slowly and Brielle erupted into a fit of restrained giggles.

**_"S... s'yuit...deee..."_** Brielle's repetition was slow and deliberate, her eyes narrowing as she leaned forward in an attempt to focus her mind.

"GOOD!" Dhadtoudi poured a drink for herself and drank it greedily as her female counterpart cheered and danced a wobbly, seated dance of joy as she shook her fists rhythmically above her head.

**_"Dhadtoudi, what are you doing to her?"_** The female in question looked up at her mate with a surprised grin crossing her features, Brielle also turning at the sound of strange clicks and growls coming from the entrance. **_"What is wrong with her?"_**

"Ooh, ooh..! Show them!" Dhadtoudi moved to a kneeling position as she eagerly tapped Brielle's shoulder to gain her attention. "SHOW THEM WHAT YOU CAN DO!"

With a broad, shining smile the scientist nodded eagerly as she turned to face the males. _**"S'yuit-de...ell-osde' pauk!"**_

"YES!!!!" Again Dhadtoudi took a gulping drink of the beverage and Brielle silently cheered her presumed accomplishment.

"I'm better at this than I thought..!" Brielle danced her shoulders back and forth in a provocative manner while T'ahrou and O'kaor stepped closer to the intoxicated females.

"Does she know what she is saying?" O'kaor spoke now and Dhadtoudi seemed even more eager than before.

"Watch her..! Just watch..!" She turned her attention to the smaller woman once more. "Who do you say that to?"

"Anybody that calls me a filthy Ooman!" Again she was showered with praising cheers from Dhadtoudi. Meanwhile T'ahrou and O'kaor shared a concerned and slightly confused glance. "Turns out I'm a natural at your language, Ghost! I convinced Dhadtoudi to teach me how to speak it, but I turned it into a great pastime!"

**_"Come. We must speak."_** Dhadtoudi rolled her bloodshot eyes at T'ahrou and sighed as she stood to follow him back to her quarters. Before she walked away however, she bent at the waist and whispered into the ear of the smaller woman.

"Remember what you learned..." Brielle nodded gingerly with a smile and watched as the two mates moved to a secluded area of the dwelling and sealed themselves inside the room. Moments later hard thuds were heard echoing down the hallway followed by deep growls. Another resounding thud was trailed by a vicious hissing sound, but that was promptly ended by another harder thud and a higher pitched growl and what sounded like a bark of surprise. Brielle giggled softly as O'kaor shook his head side to side like a lion, his dreadlocks arching through the air like a dark mane.

"Brielle Ronaldi..." She turned at the sound of her name, her reddened grey eyes meeting the intense amber gaze of O'kaor. "When you were alone with Dhadtoudi, did she abuse you in any way?" She shook her head.

"Other than the normal insults and verbal abuse, no...we shared in an intense learning session, though. Very beneficial to my studies. Intriguing creatures you are, Ghost."

His eyes narrowed into slits now. "What exactly did Dhadtoudi teach you?" A mischievous grin crept onto her plump lips as a devilish twinkle sparkled in her eyes.

"Oh...this and that. I suppose you could group it in with combat techniques. We really taught one another if you think about it." The mischievous grin returned to her face. "Would you like to see what I learned, Ghost?" A very loud thud echoed down the hallway with a softer _OOMPH_ and a human trill of giggles accompanying it. Ghost's attention quickly shifted to the cacophony of sounds and Brielle pushed herself to her feet before pointing to his combistick. "Can I borrow that?" He looked at her once more, seemingly contemplating the question before finally offering a slow nod and removed the weapon from his utility belt and offered it to the human. She moved a few feet away from him and pointed to a spot directly opposite of herself though nearly seven feet separated them.

She raised and lowered the spear several times in the air like a dumbbell as she adjusted to its heavier weight. **_"Ki'cti-pa..?"_** Ghost nodded again with a sharp click.

"Very good. You do learn quickly." A wide, toothy smile shone on her features now, and she placed her thumb on the hidden sensor that promptly extended the combistick to its full length and she slowly gave it a few deliberate spins through the air like a color guard flag before holding it at-ease to her side.

"Don't move, okay? I'm not ready to have you fight back yet. I'm still really new to it, so don't get mad if I don't get it perfect the first time." He nodded once again, and Brielle gave a soft, slow exhale.

Two and a half steps was all it took for the woman to close the distance between them, and she lowered her body to a crouched position and threw all of her weight into his calf and collapsed his knee in the very slightest. Though a little give was all she needed. Swinging the **_ki'cti-pa_** behind her, Brielle locked the staff in front of his ankle and pulled hard to get it off the ground. This put the massive being slightly off-kilter, and she grabbed his foot before running a few steps back and jabbed the end of the combistick into the pressure point in the back of his stabilizing knee just as Dhadtoudi had shown her. O'kaor fell to the one knee and using his hands to support his weight on the ground, but the woman gave him no time to brace. She continued to run with his captured foot and he fell to the ground with a heavy THUD and she could have sworn she felt the metallic floor shake.

O'kaor rolled to his back with his eyes narrowed into slits and a threatening, angry growl escaping his throat. Still she gave him no time to retaliate as she stood over him, straddling his prone body before slamming her left knee into his diaphragm with her full weight following it down and forcing the air from his lungs. Another growl began to fill the air, but was soon cut off when the schick of a blade unsheathing sounded in the room. His eyes darted to the shimmering serrated dagger that she'd pulled from behind her back and without hesitating pressed the tip firmly against the spot where his "chin" meets the top of his neck.

His eyes grew wide and his voice fell silent as he stared intently at the human, another mischievous grin spreading across her lips. Slowly and intently she pulled the blade down the length of O'kaor's neck, passing over his clavicle and sternum, and finally dancing down the length of his rippling abdominal muscles before slipping the blade beneath the knot holding the utility belt in place. With a quick yank, the knot fell free and the belt with all its contents fell uselessly to the ground.

She risked a glance at her captive Yautja and a chill ran along her spine when she saw his eyes narrowed and staring at her with the same deadly ferocity as the first time she'd found him awake and aware in the cryogenic tank. Still she continued. Keeping an air of confidence about her as she'd been taught, Brielle slid the tip of the intricate blade beneath his leather loincloth and pulled it round to the side of his hip where she quickly slit the fabric at its thinnest point. She did the same to the opposite hip, and now only a "small" patch of leather fabric covered his pertinent area.

She could see his muscles twitching throughout his body, his fingers dancing slight yet quick movements at his sides. Dhadtoudi had warned of this; his fight response was triggered and she knew she didn't have much time left. Reaching for the fabric, she began to move it to the side but quickly fell backwards between his feet when a deafening roar bellowed from the prone warrior. The sound lasted for several seconds, stopping only long enough to sit up, take a breath, and create the sound again.

Brielle crawled backwards as quickly as she could manage, wide eyed and chest heaving with adrenaline-fueled breaths escaping between her lips. The color seemed to fall from her face, and before she knew it a firm hand was gripping the top of her arm and dragged her across the room. She jumped and screamed in surprise at the touch, but looked up to see Dhadtoudi wrapped in a black fur blanket and pulling her to apparent safety. Brielle looked back at O'kaor to see T'ahrou naked and shoving the smaller male to the ground and planted a foot firmly against his chest to hold him in place. Another roar from O'kaor, immediately followed by a louder, more commanding rendition of the sound from T'ahrou.

"I-I'm sorry..!" She looked up at Dhadtoudi with tears stinging her eyes and threatening to spill over. "I-I don't know what I did wrong..! I didn't mean to make him mad..!" She could barely hear her own words, and she was sure Dhadtoudi couldn't hear them as the taller woman kept a trained gaze on the two males.

The humans were near the exit now and Dhadtoudi activated the control panel before dragging Brielle outside the dwelling and to a nearby corner where she proceeded to break down into tears and uncontrollable body shakes. She hadn't been scared, but the elevated levels of adrenaline leaving her system was wreaking havoc on her body. Dhadtoudi sat beside her in silence, staring at the wall opposite of them and feigned ignorance of the current emotional meltdown while her counterpart had her moment.


	35. 35

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ****Lemon****  
> Mature audience only please & thank you! 😁

Dhadtoudi and T'ahrou stepped into her quarters and the doorway sealed them inside the room. **_"What are you trying to do, Dhadtoudi?"_** T'ahrou's voice was low and harsh, and Dhadtoudi turned on her heel with a threatening gleam in her grey eyes.

**_"You forced me to be with her! You told me to get along with her and build a tolerance of her! I did what you asked of me, so what are you accusing me of?!"_ **

**_"She will be killed if she spouts off that bullshit to a Blooded-"_ **

**_"Why do you care so much about her?!"_ **

T'ahrou's eyes narrowed into slits and he took a dangerous step forward to close the distance between them. ** _"I do not care about that female. I do not care about the ending of her life. O'kaor was insistent that he bring back a female from that planet, and he is fascinated by her mind and physical achievements. To harm her is to harm him. And you would have her killed for something as idiotic as running her mouth!"_**

**_"SHE HAS TO LEARN!"_** Dhadtoudi was pacing the room now, and T'ahrou tracked her movements with his eyes like the hunter he was. **_"We are smaller! We are weaker! We are considered lower lifeforms! If she cannot stand her ground and put up a fight, she will not survive this planet!"_** Dhadtoudi was staring him down now, but T'ahrou remained silent. **_"She cannot be human on this planet! She will be killed for that very reason! She must act and live as Yautja! THAT is what I am teaching her! I am teaching her SURVIVAL!"_**

**_"YOU ARE TEACHING HER NOTHING..!"_** Before he knew what was happening, Dhadtoudi rushed him and slammed his massive body against the wall with a resounding THUD. A deep growl was her warning, but again she slammed her body into his causing another loud thud.

Pulling his own dagger from its sheath against his thigh, she placed the blade against his femoral artery and pressed firmly. **_"You will not threaten me, descendant of Yahti...is that perfectly clear?"_** From the corner of her eye she noticed the bulge growing beneath his loincloth and she smiled to herself. **_"Get on the bed."_** He didn't move. She pressed the blade harder against his skin, and a droplet of fluorescent green bloodtrickled down along his thigh. **_"Go, warrior."_** A growl was her answer. Within the blink of an eye she slammed the hilt of the knife directly into his diaphragm and knocked the wind from his lungs before she leg-sweeped the male and he fell to the ground.

****

**_"Do you believe you can drag me there, lou-dte kale?"_ **

Dhadtoudi snorted before more or less dropping her body on top of his own, straddling his hips as she tugged at the various buckles and fasteners of his utility belt. **_"Despite popular belief, I am not that stupid, Descendant of Yahti."_** Freeing his body from the weapons and tools about his waist, she tucked the blade carefully into the waistband of her spandex bottoms. **_"I simply have to adapt as I always do."_** Without any warning she yanked the loincloth down to reveal his hardening member, and another warning growl left his throat.

She responded with her own warning, teeth bared as she did so. For a moment she inspected the half-hard extension of his body before carefully taking it in her hand. It jumped slightly at her touch and she forced back a pleased grin. **_"What do you think you're doing?"_**

****

**_"Question me again and I will cut it from you, do you understand?"_** He nodded once, slowly as he kept his eyes on her. She began to run her hand along the length of his member, applying pressure as the strokes grew in both speed and confidence. A deep purring sound rumbled inside T'ahrou's chest as his head tilted back and his eyes fluttered shut. After several minutes of this, Dhadtoudi placed her hands against her thighs as she knelt before him. T'ahrou grumbled to himself quietly but Dhadtoudi acted as if she hadn't heard it.

She leaned forward and took hold of the base with one hand while pressing her other against his thigh for stability. Slowly and carefully she traced her tongue around the smooth tip a few times before sliding it completely inside her mouth. T'ahrou's eyes widened suddenly as the purring sound ended, but he dared not move. Gently she bobbed her head over the tip of his cock and began to suck lightly as her hand resumed its previous task of massaging the shaft. She could feel the veiny extremity hardening further inside her mouth as it pressed firmly against her tongue.

Once she'd developed a rhythm, Dhadtoudi began to envelop more of his throbbing manhood as she continued to suck and stroke. The various motions and experiences brought forth a sound from the male that she had not heard before; it was a primitive, primal sound that began deep in his chest and reverberated most of his body. **_"Stop..!"_** He hissed the word, and Dhadtoudi grinned inwardly. Already he was close, but he would not finish...she would see to that. Gripping firmly at the base of his cock, she squeezed as tightly as she could manage which earned another strange sound from T'ahrou as his member jumped wildly at the sensation.

When she was sure it was safe to continue she did so, but this time she brought her face down further and further until nearly half of his length was in her mouth. The primal sound filled the air again as his cock thrummed against the back of her throat. She held that position for as long as she could before easing down a little more. Pressure was all that she felt as the tip forced its way further into the small opening of her throat. Her eyes began to water and she gagged softly but held her ground against the offending appendage. T'ahrou's head shot up to look at her as the sound vibrated through his body once more. She gagged again before finally removing his length from her mouth and gasped for air.

Dhadtoudi continued to stroke him, this time using both hands, and T'ahrou placed his hand on the back of her head before forcing her back down to resume her newfound ability. She complied, if only for a moment, before a familiar sound reverberated from her mate. She glanced up and saw that his pupils were dilated, and they held the eye contact as she continued her work, his member throbbing more intensely now. She grinned at T'ahrou before lowering herself once more and gagging as she had before. When she came up for air, she tilted her head to the side and placed her soft lips around the side of his cock as she ran her mouth from the tip to the base, her tongue tracing intricate designs against his skin as she did so. T'ahrou sat upright now and Dhadtoudi gave a corrective hiss, but he ignored the sound.

Sitting in a crouched position, he used a sharp claw to rip along the side of her tight shorts before pulling her body towards himself. He stood and lifted her into the air, his forearms beneath her thighs for support. His own loincloth fell uselessly to the floor and he turned and slammed Dhadtoudi forcefully against the wall which despite the force of the blow, earned an amused giggle from the woman. Her laughter was short-lived however as he raised her further into the air until her womanhood was level with his face.

Dhadtoudi's face burned hot with embarrassment but she dared not struggle lest she fall. T'ahrou clicked softly as he contemplated his options, briefly looking up at the woman as his mandibles flicked lightly through the air. After a moment, his mandibles spread wide as he leaned his head forward and his warm, rough tongue pressed against her velvety folds. She whimpered uncomfortably at the sensation, but T'ahrou persisted. He pressed until the source of the sweet scent he had tasted on the air for so many years enveloped his tongue. Dhadtoudi gasped in surprise as her back arched against the wall and her head craned back. **_"You are not the only one who can try new things, pyode-jehdin..."_**

He made slow, deliberate movements which soon earned soft, pleased moans from the female. His member jumped as the sounds reached him, and he pressed further inside while his flared mandibles pressed firmly against her spread thighs. After what felt like several minutes, Dhadtoudi's hips began to rock back and forth with his motions until finally his tongue slipped out and brushed against the small nub of flesh between her folds. This sensation brought forth an intense, surprised gasp from Dhadtoudi and T'ahrou repeated the motion.

He flicked his tongue against the small nerve cluster several times until her breaths were shallow and quick. Maneuvering her body to rest atop only one arm, he used the other to tear the elastic top from her chest and clutched greedily at her exposed breasts. He pinched her hard nipples between his thumb and forefinger as he massaged the soft mounds and Dhadtoudi's cries began to grow in volume. Just as he dropped her into position to receive him fully, an enraged roar jolted them both back to reality.

Without hesitating, T'ahrou tossed Dhadtoudi onto the nearby bed and ran out of the room to find O'kaor bellowing at the smaller female. She fell backwards and seemed to try to back away from him but froze. Dhadtoudi was already running past him, clutching the black fur blanket around her body to hide her nudity. She promptly grabbed Brielle's arm and drug her back toward the dwellings entrance as T'ahrou rushed to O'kaor and pinned him against the ground. Risking another glance at the doorway, he was relieved to see that the females were already gone.

**_"What the hell do you think you're doing?!"_** He turned his focus back to O'kaor who flared his mandibles defiantly at the larger male.

**_"She expected to knock me down and have me accept such dishonor without complaint!"_ **

**_"You're an idiot, O'kaor!"_** T'ahrou took notice of the combistick and Dhadtoudi's dagger lying on the ground nearby and tasted a new, sweet scent on the air. **_"You were supposed to stay down because she can't hold her own against you yet!"_** He removed his foot from O'kaor's chest and allowed him to sit upright. T'ahrou ignored the glare he was receiving and tasted the air again. **_"Use common sense for once and observe! Tell me what you find!"_**

**_"I find that she ruined my belt and garb, she attacked me with my own weapon, and..."_** his eyes widened slightly as he tasted the air briefly. **_"What...what is that??"_**

**_"Dhadtoudi taught her mating rituals, you moron!"_** He swiftly connected an open palm to the back of O'kaor's skull and moved toward the entrance of the dwelling. **_"She wasn't disrespecting you. I guarantee you would have enjoyed the outcome. But you fucked it up as always."_** As he reached for the control panel, he repeated a human word that he had heard Dhadtoudi use often when someone infuriated her. "Dumbass..."


	36. 36

Brielle woke on one end of the reptilian hide sofa with a large fur pelt draped over her body. She sat up and noticed Dhadtoudi sitting on the opposite end of the furniture with her knees tucked to her chest. Surprisingly enough, she was wearing human clothes that consisted of an oversized grey hoodie and black leggings. "Good morning..." Dhadtoudi looked at her with dark, sunken eyes and responded with a nod. "Are you alright?"

"Dhadtoudi...no talk now. Head..." she tapped lightly against her skull. "No good. Much hurt."

"You have a headache?" Another nod. "I bet you're hungover. You drank a lot last night. Do you normally drink that much?"

"N-no." Dhadtoudi shifted her position slightly until she was able to pop her neck. "No _**c'ntlip**_ since Daih'kea."

"What's Daih'kea?"

Dhadtoudi was silent for a moment before shaking her head ever so slightly. "No talk now..." Brielle pursed her lips as she faced ahead and sat in silence for several minutes. Eventually Dhadtoudi clicked softly and leaned her head back. "Speak."

"What?" Brielle glanced over at the woman and furrowed her brow in confusion.

"You like pup. New place. Excited." Brielle nodded but remained silent. "Excited pup chatter. You speak."

"You're fine with me talking..?" Dhadtoudi nodded. "How much do you remember from last night?"

"Enough..."

"Do you remember what you told me?"

Dhadtoudi nodded absentmindedly for a moment. "Many thing." Brielle nodded in agreement. "What time?"

Taking a deep breath and turning her body to fully face the larger woman, Brielle held firm eye contact with her. "Do you remember what you said about Loriette?" Dhadtoudi stared at her for a moment before slowly shaking her head. "You told me about what happened...about the group trying to sacrifice you. Is that why you have such a grudge against me? Against humans?" Dhadtoudi nodded once. "Okay, that makes sense, and I completely respect your reasoning. I can't say that I wouldn't be more than a little upset myself had I been in your position." Dhadtoudi said nothing, and Brielle continued. "I understand that your cultures honor system is really intense; if someone disrespects you, they have to die. But why did you have such a vendetta against me if I didn't do anything to offend you?"

"You smelled like them. That reason enough."

"I smelled like humans? I don't know how I couldn't..."

"You smelled like Loriette." Brielle's eyes widened slightly at this, but Dhadtoudi's expression remained stoic as always. "T'ahrou smell it. He tell me. Thought you one of them." Brielle nodded in understanding now. "O'kaor say you smell like Brooks." Her heart sank now.

"Yeah, that's...that's what I wanted to talk to you about." Dhadtoudi waited patiently for an explanation, and Brielle took another awkward breath. "Before you left Earth...what was your name?"

A long, heavy silence passed between them and Brielle swore she could hear her heart thumping inside her head. "Sarah Macintosh of Loriette." Brielle forced a sad smile as the threat of tears stung her eyes.

"Brooks was my boss. I worked for him. We were semi-romantic for a while, but it didn't last long. He always had a habit of calling me by the wrong name." Still staring emotionlessly, Dhadtoudi waited. "He was raised in Loriette. He would have been about your age...he always talked about how I had to be Sarah, and how he had to take me back home one day. I figured Sarah was just a childhood friend that died in a tragic accident and he had never been able to properly cope with the loss...but after seeing his obsession with your clan, after going through all of this, and after what you told me last night...I honestly believe that he was part of that cult."

"If he was?" Brielle didn't say anything for a moment as she tried to choose her words very carefully. "Are you one?" She shook her head. "Do you share beliefs?" She shook her head again. "Then why does it matter what he was?" Brielle opened her mouth to argue, to explain that although she had worked for the strange, obsessed man, she did not want to be affiliated with him or his memory...but Dhadtoudi cut her off. "Acts of one do not show truth of others. Tah'rou is like large pup, but he wise. I know when I need listen."

Brielle smiled now as she began to fold the makeshift blanket and held it neatly in her lap. "You know, you're not so bad, Dhadtoudi. It takes a lot to admit when you're wrong, and even more so to admit when someone else is right."

The larger woman nodded now, a faint trace of a smile pulling at the corners of her mouth. "Pride aches. Do not adjust, soft one."

"You're soft too, ya know?" Dhadtoudi shook her head and rapped her knuckles against her covered abdomen.

"Hard like **_d'lex_**. No break Dhadtoudi." She then slapped an open palm firmly against Brielle's ever so lightly toned stomach that was exposed by the sports bra-like spandex top. "You get hard. You not break. You break, you die. We help you live."

"Survival...Ghost would be proud." Brielle chuckled softly but Dhadtoudi took on a hard expression. "What's wrong?"

"O'kaor is moron. He big. He strong. Not use brain. You kick his ass. Show him to respect. Male obey female. How you say he is? Flap-cake?"

"He's a twat-waffle..?" Dhadtoudi smiled a big, toothy grin and clicked excitedly as she slapped her palm against Brielle's arm in a playful manner.


	37. 37

"Hey Ghost, I'm not trying to be a whiny bitch...but I think I prefer the jungle." The large male shook his head as his dreads arched through the air with the motion. Some clicking sounds echoed around Brielle, and O'kaor finally stepped forward from the tall, brown grass.

"Your body is not yet ready for the stress of the heat and humidity of our jungles."

Brielle wiped a streak of sweat from her forehead, neck, and chest as she continued to move towards the alien. "I don't know how much you know about the human body, but prolonged exposure to extreme dry heat is bad for humans as well. I don't know how Dhadtoudi has survived this long if your entire planet is plagued with these weather conditions."

"Dhadtoudi has conquered her own dance with death. You must learn to adjust your body to tolerate the different climates."

"Funny you would say that considering you nearly died any time my office dropped below ninety degrees..." Rolling, clicking laughter filled her ears now and O'kaor let loose a warning growl. "But it's comforting knowing that there's another girl that couldn't handle your planets extremes when she first got here."

"It was not weather that tried to claim her life, Brielle Ronaldi." The irritation was still clear in O'kaor's voice but a resounding growl, likely from Dhadtoudi, filled the seemingly empty air around them. "Regardless of your conditions and limitations, you must learn to hunt if you wish to survive."

Brielle sighed as she placed her hands on her hips and titled her head back to look at the sky. "I know how to hunt. That's kind of the point of-"

"You know how to _kill_. You do not know how to _hunt_. Not _well_. You will learn."

"How do you plan on teaching me if you don't know anything about humans, let alone how we learn and retain information?"

O'kaor folded his arms over his chest now, and a slight rustling in the nearby brush reached Brielle's ears. "You will track Dhadtoudi. When you find her, you will kill her."

"What the fuck did you just say?!"

"If you hesitate, she will retaliate and take your life instead." Before Brielle could argue further, O'kaor made his way back to the tall grass and activated his cloaking system. "You begin now." Light rustling sounds could be heard from her right.

Brielle took chase after the sound and pushed her way through the high grass that easily reached her shoulder. Seconds later the area fell silent save for her own off-kilter footfalls. She slowed to a stop as she tried to catch her breath, looking around for any sign of movement. _Look for changes in the growth pattern. She would be pushing the grass down as she runs._

Her thoughts held little relevance when she realized that no matter which direction she looked the grass stood upright and just as tall as ever. Even the path that she had taken herself and knew that she'd crushed down several lumbering stalks remained undamaged. She pressed a foot down hard on the stalk of grass in front of her, held it firmly against the ground for several seconds, and then released the bent foliage. It snapped right back into place and she cursed inwardly to herself. Brielle knew her plan would be useless.

It was then that something caught her attention: light rustling coming from behind and to the left a bit. Brielle looked all around and the sound stopped. She took a few steps and moved deeper into the dense foliage until the sound started again. She grinned to herself and kept up a slow, careful pace as she waited for the sound to move closer.

Several seconds passed until the hair on the back of Brielle's neck stood on end. She turned quickly only to find nothing there. As a precaution she reached for the blade on her hip that O'kaor had given her before they left the dwelling, but it was nowhere to be found. Brielle took a careful step back as her eyes scanned the immediate area. She tried to look for the telltale mirage of their cloaking systems, but the heat was too great; everywhere she looked, mirages surrounded her.

Within a moments notice a sharp _SHLINK_ sound rang out and Brielle ducked down before turning to run full-speed as the grass where she had previously been standing was sliced down at the spot where her neck had been. Her heart jumped to her throat as she raced away from the invisible threat and her pulse thumped wildly in her ears. _I don't think I like this learning system..!_

Brielle's heart skipped a beat when a sickening _THWOOMB_ reached her ears and her left side was met with extreme pain as Dhadtoudi's body slammed into her and knocked her to the ground just as a large spear dig into the ground where she had previously been standing. Brielle struggled to replenish the air that had just been knocked from her lungs, and Dhadtoudi was already on her feet as she let loose a terrifying roar-like scream and charged the invisible attacker head-on. A blue light began to pulse several feet above the ground, and a ball of plasma energy launched directly at the taller woman. She dodged but not quick enough. Her skin sizzled as the energy ball grazed her side, but still she ran at the offending being.

Taking a large, metallic dagger from her thigh, Dhadtoudi leapt through the air to drive her shoulder into what Brielle could only guess to be a Yautjas chest or abdominal area depending on their size, and the ground shook as a thundering _BOOM_ was heard as a large body made contact with the ground. As Dhadtoudi fell to the ground, she landed in a ready-runner's position and took off once more as soon as her feet connected with the ground.

The Yautja on the ground fizzled into view as his cloaking system failed, and Dhadtoudi lunged at him. The male quickly sat up and reached out an arm to catch Dhadtoudi by the throat, and he carefully stood to his full height. Despite his massive size, if lined up next to O'kaor and T'ahrou he would be appear very vertically challenged.

As she dangled helplessly in the air, Dhadtoudi hit one of her boots against the other and activated a blade in the second. As the blade popped out of the front of her boot, she kicked upwards as hard as she could muster in her vulnerable position, and buried the blade deep in the underside tissue of the males arm. He bellowed a deafening roar as he released Dhadtoudi to fall to the ground, and surprisingly she still held the dagger in her hand. She launched herself at the male once again and used the dagger to slice his belly open.

Fluorescent blood, guts, and miscellaneous vital organs began to spill out onto the ground as the male tried uselessly to place them back inside his wound. Blood began to trickle down from behind his mask and gurgling sounds could be heard as he tried to breath. A moment later, the male fell to the ground and convulsed until at last he died.

Dhadtoudi took several deep, labored breaths as she held her injured side and unleashed another powerful would-be roar. She spit on the corpse and turned her face to the sky as she again tried to catch her breath, a slight hissing sound leaving her lips as her chest heaved. Brielle offered silence as Dhadtoudi regained her bearings and placed her dagger back in its holster, the bright green blood beginning to trickle down along her thigh. The larger woman finally turned to face Brielle and she tried to hide her limp as she approached the former scientist. "Training is over." She said through gritted teeth. "We must return. We will find another area to train." They silently made their way back to their starting position where O'kaor and T'ahrou were piling three dead Yautja bodies on top of one another.

The two had light scratches and a few cuts littering their bodies, but nothing too serious. T'ahrou turned his attention to the approaching females, his amber eyes lingering on Dhadtoudi as a low rumble and trill of clicks left his throat. Dhadtoudi answered with her own sounds, and the larger male growled deep in his chest. The sound sent chills racing through Brielle's body, but she tried to act like she hadn't noticed their conversation at all.

O'kaor stepped forward and inspected Brielle in silence, and she too held her tongue. Once he was done, O'kaor nodded seemingly to himself before meeting Brielle's grey eyes with his own. "You are not injured. This is good."

"Dhadtoudi saved my ass out there." O'kaor turned his focus to the taller woman who hissed at him in return. "I didn't even know he was out there, Ghost."

T'ahrou clicked to O'kaor and the smaller male nodded in response. "Dhadtoudi, go to Aytu. You," he looked to Brielle again, "come with me." The females did as instructed with T'ahrou walking with Dhadtoudi, and Brielle followed close behind O'kaor as they moved through the field of tall grass. "Were you afraid?"

"No...were you?"

"Yautja do not let such emotions compromise our mental state."

Brielle nervously chewed her lip. "Why did they do that? We didn't do anything to provoke an attack, and I'm pretty sure that wasn't meant to be part of the training."

"Many members of the clan do not approve of your kind. Many retaliated when Dhadtoudi was brought to the clan. A rogue group formed a treaty with a clan of Bad Bloods to try to assassinate Dhadtoudi, but they only were able to take her sire's life."

Brielle contemplated his words for a few moments as they walked in silence. "And my showing up just stirred up more trouble..." O'kaor nodded once. "Ghost, I don't want to cause trouble for-"

"We will discuss a course of action once Dhadtoudi returns from the healer. Until then, you will not leave my side." Brielle reluctantly agreed with his command and they did not speak again until they returned to the dwelling.


	38. 38

_When Dhadtoudi arrived to the Kehrite and tried to ignore the looming form of T'ahrou standing near her, the combat master had chastised Dahdtoudi for her shortened tresses, and he mocked her for being such a poor fighter that she would allow someone to cut them and dishonor her in such a manner. The tiny human had not argued with the master, but T'ahrou noticed his mask display her elevated heart rate._

_After the reprimand, the master had directed the 30+ young bloods to practice their various battle stances and weaponry attacks, and they would put the skills to use against one another within the hour. T'ahrou began with his gauntlet blades and then switched to his dagger, saving the combistick for last. Occasionally he would glance in Dahdtoudi's direction and noticed that she only used her combistick. She looks strange, he thought, her form is off._

_The hour passed quickly and the young bloods began to claim partners. A female with yellow eyes approached Dahdtoudi as she always did, but stopped a few yards away as the human waved her away. The Yautja jogged toward another female and they began to spar as Dahdtoudi moved to attack a wooden dummy that was placed in the corner._

_T'ahrou made his way across the ring toward the masked human, his combistick at his side. She pretended not to notice him as she focused on her task. "Do you mind if I cut in?" She paused briefly before returning to her strikes on the defenseless mannequin._

_"You want to practice with the dummy?"_

_"Actually, I was asking the dummy...I would like to practice with you." She said nothing, only kept up her attacks._

_"You could train with the master." He opened his mouth to respond but the human cut him off. "It will hurt your reputation further to spar with me, young blood. You already have enough problems with that since you keep interfering with my fights."_

_"You will call me by my name. We are equals, Dahdtoudi." He hadn't meant to sound as harsh as he had, but it finally got her attention away from the dummy. His mask registered her elevated heart rate and spike in adrenaline levels._

_"I will call you by your title. That is the way, young blood. Do you forget?" Her tone was laced with malice as she advanced on the much larger male. "I don't know what game you're playing, but you need to stop. Whoever you placed a bet with, call it off. We are not comrades. We are not friends. I do not need you to fight my battles. Just stay away from me..!"_

_T'ahrou closed the distance between them, stopping only when they were less than an inch apart. He glared down at the girl as she craned her neck to look at him. He didn't need to see her expression to know that she was furious. "Make me leave, Dahdtoudi." Before he could register what was happening, the human struck the side of his head with all her might and her combistick connected with the metal of his mask. A sickening CRACK echoed throughout the training hall as his head snapped to the side, his decorated tresses arching through the air with the action. The remaining young bloods were now directing their attention to the squabbling pair and even the master looked on with curiosity._

_A low growl rumbled from T'ahrou's chest as he slowly pushed her combistick aside and popped his neck."You will need to do better than that..." T'ahrou lashed out with his own weapon but the small female side-stepped, narrowly dodging his powerful attack before she landed a harsh kick to his abdomen. The male in turn grabbed her lower leg and attempted to throw her off-balance but she pushed off the ground with her opposite foot and connected a quick spin kick with the uninjured side of his face._

_T'ahrou unleashed a deafening roar as he released his grip on the human to clutch his bloody brow bone; the way the metal had been forced against his face had been enough to break the skin and he felt as though the bone had actually broken. Dahdtoudi took full advantage of the situation and swiped her combistick at his legs, knocking him flat on his back with a heavy thud before she pulled the serrated dagger from her thigh and pressed it firmly against his throat._

_"Yield..!" She snarled the word, but T'ahrou chuckled as he unsheathed his gauntlet blades and pressed them against her own slender neck._

_"ENOUGH!" Both turned their gaze to the approaching combat master whose mandibles clicked in frustration. "Get up before you kill yourselves! What is the meaning of this nonsense?!"_

_"Just a challenge, Master." T'ahrou gave the excuse as Dahdtoudi was pushing away from his large body, her chest heaving with rage and labored breathing. "I made a bet with Dahdtoudi that she couldn't beat me in a fight."_

_The master hummed in thought before looking at the tiny human as her opponent moved to stand beside her. Dahdtoudi stood level with the bottom of T'ahrou's chest, and he had to be nearly twice her weight. "How was she able to get you down, young blood?"_

_"Dahdtoudi has considerable skill, Master. Her form could use some fine-tuning, but otherwise she is a formidable fighter." The Master thought on his words before waving a dismissive hand._

_"Very well...since your sparring partner is not here, you will train with her, T'ahrou. While you're at it, see if you can clean up her form." The young blood bowed respectfully as their master walked away and the other spectators returned to their previous tasks. Dahdtoudi turned and kicked the dummy hard in the abdomen which sent it tumbling to the ground._

_T'ahrou clicked in amusement at the outburst and moved to pick up the wooden mannequin as Dhadtoudi paced back and forth to ease her frustration. "Your center of gravity is off." She turned to face him suddenly, and even through her bio-mask he swore he could feel her glare pierce his soul. "If you can just get your stance right, you could-"_

_"My stance is fine!"_

_"If that were true, you would not struggle to keep your balance every time you attack, and you would be able to withdraw from the attacks much sooner than you do now." Dhadtoudi hissed in annoyance as she returned to her pacing. "It is clear that you are trying, and it is clear that you have skill and potential...you just need to learn to better control your movements."_

_"I have tried..!" She whispered the outburst as she quickly stepped within arms reach of the male again, and he watched as she looked around the **Kehrite** to be sure that no one was looking in their direction. "It seems so easy for you because you have been able to receive proper instruction..! If you struggle, the Master comes to render aid. If you require a training partner, you have Bhihtu at the ready..! You have every opportunity to learn and improve..!"_

_"Then give yourself the same opportunity." Her head tilted to the side slowly as she carefully studied T'ahrou's words. "Strike me." Dhadtoudi did not move at first, and T'ahrou clicked impatiently."Do you allow your fear to override your movements? Strike me!"_

_More suddenly than he had expected, Dhadtoudi launched her fist at his chest yet he caught her wrist mid-air. T'ahrou looked at her stance as well as her body positioning, and began to run his fingers along her arm and back. "What are you doing?" Her tone was soft yet harsh as T'ahrou lifted her arm slightly and pushed against the center of her back until she straightened her posture._

_"I am providing you with proper instruction." He risked a glance at the female when her heart rate accelerated while his hands moved to her hips and he placed a large foot between her own and kicked at one to widen her stance. "I am giving you an opportunity to learn and improve."_

_"If I have not grasped it by now, I never will."_

_"You are too negative, soft one." She flinched at the term. "You are not built as we are...perhaps you learn differently as well. If verbal instruction alone does not help, perhaps you must be taught through action instead."_

-——————————————————————

Dhadtoudi watched the smaller female as T'ahrou repeatedly threw her to the ground in the center of the gathering area. Because of the attack in the hunting fields, they had decided it best to teach the human in the safety of their dwelling. Although T'ahrou remained surprisingly patient with his new pupil, guiding her movements with Dhadtoudi and O'kaor providing translations, she just didn't seem able to catch on.

"What do you believe the complication to be?" Dhadtoudi risked a glance at O'kaor before clicking in irritation. "She is intelligent, and the forms he has been teaching her are base fundamentals. I do not understand why she is struggling as she is."

"Perhaps he is teaching her incorrectly..." The male clicked curiously as his head tilted to the side ever so slightly. "Dearest one," she called to T'ahrou now and he responded with a sharp click, "teach her as you would a Young Blood."

Tahrou looked from his mate to the other female, and then back to the first. "That did not work for you."

"Try it with her. Perhaps we hold different learning methods." T'ahrou clicked in confusion once more, and Dhadtoudi rose to her feet. "You have explained to her the method, but perhaps she requires visual instruction."

Brielle looked between the two with wide eyes, her heart pounding in her chest. "Did I do something wrong? I didn't accidentally do a mating ritual thing, did I?"

Dhadtoudi stepped forward and placed her hands on Brielle's shoulders to move her into place a few yards to the side before she moved to stand before her mate. "O'kaor, you will continue to explain to her the techniques." The smaller male looked to his cousin in confusion, but T'ahrou clicked to agree with Dhadtoudi. "You are better at explaining the 'when and how' side of things." The male let out a deep sigh and moved to stand alongside Brielle. She looked up at him with confusion clear on her face, but he ignored it.

"You will watch. If you have questions, you must ask." The woman agreed and returned her focus to Dhadtoudi and T'ahrou who stood facing one another. "When you are locked in combat with an opponent, you want to gain the upper hand. Some ways to do this include a basic leg strike," Dhadtoudi launched her shin toward T'ahrou's abdomen but he caught her ankle with his hand and held her in place mid-attack, "or a hand strike." Dhadtoudi pulled her foot away from T'ahrou and aimed a well-placed punch directly toward T'ahrou's mandibles. "You want to debilitate your opponent as quickly as possible."

"I thought you were all hellbent on fighting honorably." O'kaor nodded in agreement with Brielle's statement.

"We are. Honor is the basis of our entire civilization. However, you cannot afford to give your opponent an easy win."

Brielle pursed her lips now as her brow furrowed atop her grey eyes. "So then how is it okay to fight dirty?"

O'kaor looked to Dhadtoudi and clicked in frustration. "Dhadtoudi, what is she talking about?" Dhadtoudi motioned for Brielle to step forward and she complied.

Dhadtoudi directed the smaller female to stand at her side and pointed to different points on T'ahrou's body. "You are much smaller than Yautja. You must be able to use this to your advantage and bring them down to your level. Yautja have specific pressure points on their body...here on their side, here on their necks, and their tusks are extremely fragile." Brielle nodded slowly as her eyes moved upward along T'ahrou's looming figure and his mandibles flared wide which caused the smaller female to flinch slightly. "If you manage to break their tusks," she grabbed Tah'rou's upper left mandible and used it to pull him down to her eye level as his own amber ones widened in surprise, "you will earn a few seconds to attack."

"But won't breaking their tusks hurt them and piss them off?"

Dhadtoudi stared blankly at the smaller female as if to say well duh. "Yes...yes it will."

"Then why do it?"

"Because the few seconds it earns you could mean the difference between life and death for you." It made sense strategically she knew, but Brielle couldn't help but think that doing something like that would only make a situation worse for her in the end. "Do you understand? If it comes down to your survival and another's..."

"I need to be the one to come home." Dhadtoudi nodded as light, approving clicks trailed from her throat. Training continued for the next few hours and left Brielle's leg aching horribly from her recent injury and current overexertion. The smaller female made great improvement as she paired T'ahrou's previous combat forms with her recently-acquired knowledge of the Yautja body.

Brielle felt as though she would be able to hold her own in a fight if it came down to it, but one thing she had not been able to move past was her borderline fear of their monstrous appearance. Many times over T'ahrou would make aggressive displays with his tusks or just overall massive alien body, and every time it triggered her fight or flight response...only even the trained, experienced soldier inside screamed at her to run to her fullest ability.


	39. 39

_"Is it normal for their kind to attack us?"_

_"In the past, yes. Since my chiva, they have not antagonized me as they did." Dhadtoudi looked to the smaller female who was absentmindedly chewing her bottom lip as she often did. "It would seem that your arrival has reignited their anger." Brielle inhaled deeply and twisted the black fur pelt in her fingers as she sat in the floor of the gathering area with Dhadtoudi sitting opposite of her. "Something else bothers you."_

_The question was spoken more as a statement and Brielle nodded once. "I can't help but think I should go back." A long pause lingered in the air between them, Dhadtoudi's grey eyes never leaving the former scientist._

_"That is what you desire?"_

_Another bout of silence before Brielle finally met Dhadtoudi's intense gaze. "I've dreamed of this since I was a kid. I always wanted to go to space...and when I couldn't do that, I decided I wanted to focus my skills in the study of space and extraterrestrial lifeforms. But now that I'm here, I feel like all I do is cause trouble for you all, or get on your nerves."_

_"Do you know why you cause problems?" Brielle looked at her as if to say 'you're supposed to disagree with that part'. "It is because you do not belong on this planet." Again Brielle's expression fell but Dhadtoudi continued. "You do not belong among their people. And you do not belong here." Dhadtoudi pushed herself to her feet now. "You do not belong just as I do not." She stepped to the dwelling entrance now. "Do you know the only difference between us?"_

_"The fact that you were raised here?"_

_"No. It is that I did not care about where I belong. It did not matter that I was not accepted. The difference is that I made them realize and accept that I would not surrender...that I would not run from them. I fought as if I were one of them, and I did not stop until they were forced to recognize me as one of the clan." She looked back to the smaller female. "Come. You will familiarize yourself with our culture. You will develop a deep-rooted... personal connection with our people."_

———————————————————————

Brielle sat up in bed, staring into the darkness for several moments before standing and moving to activate the control panel for the door. She made her way to the would-be kitchen and retrieved the bottle of fruity alcohol from its usual place in the wall.

"Do you often wake in the night, Brielle Ronaldi?" She jumped at the sound of O'kaor's voice and quickly turned to search the darkened gathering area. Even with her eyes adjusting in the darkness she could see nothing, and the rumbling undertone of his voice was bone chilling.

"Do you usually stay here overnight?"

"Zaiyu requested T'ahrou and Dhadtoudi's assistance in a search for a team of Young Bloods. I was asked to stay here until they return." Brielle hummed thoughtfully as she took a sip straight from the metal container and O'kaor stepped to the side of the counter opposite of the female. "You have not answered my question."

Brielle pursed her lips and rolled her eyes in the darkness. "Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night. It's normal."

"Normal for you, or normal for **_pyode-amedha_**?"

"Both." O'kaor said nothing for a moment and Dhadtoudi carefully placed the container of c'ntlip back in its rightful place. "Is it normal for _you_ or _your people_ to sit in the dark for hours on end?"

"Both." He responded in kind to her own question, and stepped closer to the female. She could feel the heat radiating from his body, as well as hear his massive heart beating in his chest. "Tell me, Brielle Ronaldi..." his voice was deep and layered with intensity, "why did you choose to come to our planet?"

"Because my choice was to either come here or be blown up by your mega-bomb." A strange sound that Brielle had come to recognize as a giggle of sorts erupted from the massive creature in the shadows of the night, and the woman grinned in response. "I guess you could say I wanted to survive.

The laughter died down and Brielle could hear the ever-quiet footfalls of O'kaor moving across the room and increased the distance between them. "What do you think will happen if you were to go back?"

Brielle pursed her lips in frustration when she realized Dhadtoudi had blabbed to the young warrior. _I guess the saying 'snitches get stitches' doesn't exist here._ "What's your point, Ghost?"

"Your kind made an attempt on your life before you left that planet. What do you believe they will do once they find out you have returned from the stars? You will live as I did in your lab...though I doubt they will be as accommodating." Brielle thought on his words and cringed as an overhead light was activated. Once her eyes adjusted to the offending brightness, Brielle looked across the room to notice O'kaor sitting on the would-be sofa and wearing nothing but a leather loin cloth. "You must decide where you wish to live out the rest of your days. If you move through life dwelling in regrets, you can never truly live."


	40. 40

Brielle had been training with the Yautja for what felt to be several weeks when T'ahrou and O'kaor had been called to escort a group of Young Bloods on a training hunt which left Dhadtoudi and Brielle with Zaiyu for several days. The time spent with the small male was used to train and rebuild Brielle's stamina and muscle mass. Many a night she sat in the oasis pool for several hours, unable to get up because the pain in her right leg was so unbearable.

Zaiyu would bark short commands at her from time to time if her form or timing were off, and failure to deliver a "proper" attack would earn herself a firm smack to the back of her head. It didn't hurt so much as stun the woman, but it really pissed her off. At one point she turned to strike back at the male, and she was quick to regret it. Zaiyu had thrown her around for several minutes before finally growing bored of the reprimand and shoved her to the ground before he walked away. She didn't know what he was clicking about, but the smaller woman was able to pick out the words which roughly translated to "dumb bitch". Dhadtoudi spoke nothing of the encounter afterward.

Once O'kaor and T'ahrou returned, the younger of the two was quick to question why the former scientist was covered in cuts, bruises, and scars. _**"Your little pyode-amedha is feisty, O'kaor. She's nearly to the point where she will be able to challenge my brother and actually put up a fight."**_ O'kaor's amber eyes widened in shock and disbelief, earning a chuckle from the dominant female. **_"You would be surprised by what we can accomplish when we are pushed to our limits."_**

"Hey Ghost! I've got a bone to pick with you!" He turned his attention to the approaching female who was dressed in nothing more than a thin piece of fabric covering her chest, arms, and something that Dhadtoudi had referred to as a "thong". "I'm sick of being cooped up in this house! I want to go on a hunt with you!"

"You are not ready, Brielle Ronaldi. You must train."

"I've been training day and night since you left to go to your little frat boy sausage party! I'm perfectly capable! Let's go!"

O'kaor turned his gaze back to the amused expression that was plastered on Dhadtoudi's features. **_"It would seem that one of our developments is an inflated ego."_**

**_"I could have told you that..."_** Dhadtoudi hissed at her mates playful statement, but O'kaor shook his head as he ignored their squabble.

"You are not ready."

"Why not?!"

"You will not survive. You are still too weak." The look in Brielle's grey eyes signaled that something may have just snapped inside her psyche, and Dhadtoudi made a strange human sound before moving from her position alongside O'kaor to sit behind Brielle.

**_"You've done it now, Young Blood."_** He could hear the amusement in her voice, but her expression was one that she often made when T'ahrou or Zaiyu ran their mouths too much.

"Fight me."

O'kaor looked at the small female in confusion, his head tilting to the side as his dreads fell around his shoulders. "What did you say, female?"

"I said, 'fight me'. Come at me, bro!"

"You would be wise to think before you speak..!" His tone was deep and threatening, but the human didn't waver.

"I know what the fuck I'm doing! So either fight me or sit down and shut up! You don't speak for me, and you sure as hell don't get to say that I'm weak when you haven't even been around to see my progress!"

T'ahrou moved to spectate alongside Zaiyu in the kitchenette area, an action that earned a look of betrayal from his cousin. **_"Sorry O'kaor...I don't know what your little squishy is saying, but I know when mine sounds like that, it's time to step back."_**

**_"You betray your bloodline, T'ahrou."_** The larger male clicked in amusement as the smaller of the two offered his combistick out to the human. Her nose crinkled as she refused the weapon, and her opponent placed the weapon back in its rightful place on his utility belt. "Very well, Ooman. Show me your progress."


	41. 41

"Fight me."

O'kaor looked at the small female in confusion, his head tilting to the side as his dreads fell around his shoulders. "What did you say, female?"

"I said, 'fight me'. Come at me, bro!"

"You would be wise to think before you speak..!" His tone was deep and threatening, but the human didn't waver.

"I know what the fuck I'm doing! So either fight me or sit down and shut up! You don't speak for me, and you sure as hell don't get to say that I'm weak when you haven't even been around to see my progress!"

T'ahrou moved to spectate alongside Zaiyu in the kitchenette area, an action that earned a look of betrayal from his cousin.  **_"Sorry O'kaor...I don't know what your little squishy is saying, but I know when mine sounds like that, it's time to step back."_ **

**"You betray your bloodline, T'ahrou."** The larger male clicked in amusement as the smaller of the two offered his combistick out to the human. Her nose crinkled as she refused the weapon, and her opponent placed the weapon back in its rightful place on his utility belt. "Very well, Ooman. Show me your progress."

She charged at him from across the room and lunged as if to jump at him. He reached out to grab her mid air, only to find that she instead tucked into herself and rolled between his legs. As he turned, Brielle used one of her feet to redirect her path of motion and jumped into the air to grab a fistful of dreadlocks. O'kaor roared in pained anger, but the sound quickly ended when she brought a knee to connect with his face. He growled a deep, terrifying sound as her kneecap drew blood from his brow, and Brielle had to force away the chill that filled her body in that moment.

As she landed on the ground she immediately had to dodge as O'kaor lashed out with his claws, aiming straight for her jugular. She leaned back and narrowly missed the dagger-like nails that tipped his fingers. The woman managed to grab hold of his wrist and forearm, using it to brace her body weight as she twisted the limb to the side and brought her knee up once more to connect with his elbow. The room was filled with a sickening POP followed by a deafening bellow. O'kaor staggered backwards as he gripped his disabled arm, his amber eyes narrowing into slits as flakes of red began to flood his vision.

**_"O'kaor..."_** he ignored T'ahrou as he crept closer to the small female, pulling his dagger from his utility belt as he went. **_"O'KAOR!!"_** Brielle didn't have time to react when the male lunged at her, but Zaiyu and T'ahrou both were on him before he could close the distance between them.

The two older males pinned him down and were dragging him out the door when Dhadtoudi burst into a fit of laughter.

"What the hell is so funny?! He actually tried to kill me!"

Dhadtoudi nodded in agreement, a bright smile plastered on her face. With her grey eyes gleaming and her pearly teeth glistening in the light, she looked to be on the very precipice of gleeful insanity. " _Exactly_. You made him _try_. You forced him to put _effort_ into the fight. You may have wounded his pride in the process, but you won this round, soft one."


	42. 42

_Brielle walked side by side with Timothy Goldstein as they patrolled yet another rubble-filled street. "What do you think causes this?" He asked as he glanced at the woman to his left. She shrugged but did not answer. "Don't give me that bullshit. We both know damn well you think it's aliens...!"_

_"Has it ever occurred to you that I may be joking when I say that?"_

_"It has..." he agreed slowly, "but it has also occurred to me that you may be completely serious, too." Brielle adjusted the Kevlar vest that was working its way closer to the base of her neck before her partner regained her attention. "Hey Ronaldi," she hummed quizzically, "we're both aiming for different aspects of the same field. You want to find and study extraterrestrials, and I want to hunt them down to bring them in. Let's make a deal – if one of us ever does manage to find one, we'll do whatever we can to help each other get the job done. Sound reasonable?" After a moment of deliberation, the two shook on the agreement and continued on with their patrol._

########

From her calculations, Brielle estimated that she had been with the alien species for about nine to ten months by now, and she had made a lot of progress in her training. She had gone on several small hunts during that time and even had a few trophies of local wildlife to show for it.

Brielle now walked through the crowded streets at Dhadtoudi's side, her splendid customized armor gracing her small body. "Where are we going this time?" She asked the larger woman in a hushed tone from behind her mask.

"The Young Bloods will be participating in a group hunt. We will accompany them."

"Isn't that something that Ghost and T'ahrou usually do?" Dhadtoudi nodded once.

"They will go as well." The conversation seemed to end there and Brielle took the opportunity to notice her surroundings.

Huge, metallic buildings loomed all around, holding a certain intimidating appearance that was shared by their creators. They somewhat resembled he buildings on earth, but with a Mayan temple feel about them.

Many of the creatures they passed would look at her in confusion, but very few stopped to make remarks to Dhadtoudi. She reasoned it was due to the unfamiliar human scent decorating the air, or the sound of her voice speaking in her native tongue as very few of their clan members recognized the language.

The two women walked until they reached the loading docks where T'ahrou, O'kaor, and Zaiyu were all waiting. "It's about time." Ghost said with arms folded over his massive chest. "We were beginning to think the two of you may have killed one another." Zaiyu nodded in agreement and T'ahrou trilled something to his mate who responded in kind. "Come," the smaller male instructed, "the Young Bloods are waiting."

The group moved into the enormous ship and prepared for departure. The turbulence was rough at first but Zaiyu and another pilot seemed to correct the issue with relative ease. Before long they were out of the atmosphere and zooming through open space. Brielle's skin crawled with an uncomfortable chill as nearly a dozen pair of amber eyes watched her from across the way.

One of the young males clicked something and Dhadtoudi responded with a low growl. The male answered the warning with his own threatening sound, a cold chill shooting along Brielle's spine. If not for the mask, they would be able to see the growing discomfort in her grey eyes. Dhadtoudi however, donned no mask. Her long dreads hung freely about her hips though they were draped away from her face to reveal the bright white scar that acted as the clan's trademark. Her pearly teeth glinted in the low lighting of the ship as she unleashed several rounds of animalistic growls and harsh clicks that were traded between herself and a handful of the Young Bloods. Brielle dared not interrupt.

The male that started the presumed argument jumped to his feet and the bone-chilling sound of metal scraping against metal filled the room as Dhadtoudi unsheathed the dagger from her thigh and launched it across the room with one fatal motion. The blade found residence between the male's eyes, his body staggering for a moment before falling uselessly to the ground. Silence filled the room now, and both pilots along with T'ahrou and O'kaor, were looking back at the newly-created murder scene. Dhadtoudi barked something at the rest of the Young Bloods who watched her with defiance burning in their eyes though they stepped back and took their seats against the metallic wall. She huffed and crossed the room before placing her foot on the dead male's chest and pulling her blade from his skull.

Fluorescent green lifeblood dripped from the silver metal, and the woman flung the weapon to the side to rid it of the substance. Neon droplets sprayed across the floor as T'ahrou clicked in amusement, his chest puffed out as he spoke to Zaiyu.

Dhadtoudi began to walk toward the back of the ship as she called out a directive. Brielle usually didn't speak the Yautja language even after all this time, but she recognized the words "soft one" and "follow". She scuttled along behind the larger female and after a few minutes they were in what appeared to be a cafeteria or break room of sorts.

"What the hell was that?" Brielle breathed the question as Dhadtoudi retrieved a container of citrus alcohol and took a long drink before offering it to Brielle who took a courtesy sip.

"What did you hear?"

Brielle thought for a moment. "He said something about a jar...or some kind of container of meat."

"A vessel for the Hard Meat." Brielle nodded in agreement. "It was meant as an insult."

"And the punishment for dishonor is death..." Dhadtoudi clicked approvingly. "The Hard Meat are what killed your family, right?" There was silence for a moment before Dhadtoudi finally clicked again. "Is that what they're gonna hunt?"

"Among other things...the indigenous species can provide a decent challenge at times. It is good practice for the young ones. If they succeed, and if they survive the trip back, they will be allowed to claim a mate and sire pups."

A thought nagged at the back of Brielle's mind as it often had in the several months that she had been living among the clan members, but as usual she kept the thought internalized. "Will we stay on the ship while they hunt?" Dhadtoudi scoffed as if that was the stupidest question she'd heard all day.

"Of course not. We will hunt alongside the Blooded warriors." She looked at the smaller woman with a demented glint in her grey eyes. "You will prove yourself, or you will die."


	43. 43

It took less than a day to reach their destination and the group as a whole (minus the secondary pilot) made their way to the singular pods. Dhadtoudi gave Brielle the benefit of a crash course on pod operations and hit the control panel to prompt the door to seal shut before suddenly ejecting from the ship. As the pod headed for the nearby planet, Brielle fought the urge to spill the contents of her stomach due to the ungodly shaking of the device. _THIS IS EXACTLY WHY I DIDN’T WANT TO BE AN ASTRONAUT..!_

Within minutes the inside of the pod became so warm that droplets of sweat trickled down her body before an overwhelming chill surpassed the heat as she was jolted about from the aggressive landing. She hadn't expected such a sudden stop, and for a moment she was too disoriented to operate the control panel. She waited for a few minutes until her vision cleared and she typed in the commands to prompt the seal to open.

Striking darkness met her shielded eyes until she switched through the vision settings on her mask until a bright thermal night vision graced her senses. A moment later she used the gauntlet on her left wrist to locate the signals of the rest of the hunting party. Eleven life signs were spread out to the west, and four others were gathered together in the east. "Oh yeah, don't come my way...just make the short one walk to the rest of you. That's fine." She grumbled as she started her trek through low-rising foliage and pressed a button on her gauntlet that activated the cloaking shield of her pod.

Ten minutes later she finally reached her group; all of them were donning full armor and weapons, including their bio-masks. O'kaor clicked excitedly when he noticed her approaching from the side, and the others turned to face her. "Sorry I'm late," Brielle stated as she moved to stand alongside O'kaor, "traffic was terrible." Her comrades obviously hadn't realized the comedic gold which she had just offered them, but she made a point not to take offense.

"Forming plan we were." Zaiyu spoke up now. Though his English was pretty good despite an extremely heavy accent that resembled Jamaican mixed with Canadian and Cajun, he often had difficulties with proper sentence formations. "Females trap. Track males and ahead move."

Brielle waited for a moment as she tried to decipher the eldest Warrior's words. Dhadtoudi clicked in annoyance and clarified. "We will set traps and use them to hunt. They will track prey and lead us forward."

"Can't you track though?" Dhadtoudi nodded once. "Then why don't you help with that?"

"Some of us are concerned that you will not be able to keep up on your own." O'kaor shifted uncomfortably at her words; it was an action that was barely noticeable, but it was there.

"I can keep up. You don't need to coddle me like a child." T'ahrou let loose a rumbling chuckle before trilling softly to his cousin. Dhadtoudi put in her two cents on whatever they were talking about before Dhadtoudi and T'ahrou moved away from the group and headed further east while Zaiyu trekked north. "What the fuck...where are you going?!"

O'kaor stepped closer to her as he typed away on his gauntlet. "They think it will be better to split up. It will better test your effectiveness on hunts if you are forced to fend for yourself."

"I'm not by myself. You're with me, Ghost."

"You wish to not be treated as a pup, correct?" She was silent for a moment. “We may be hunting together but you will be responsible for your own wellbeing."


	44. 44

Gunfire rang out through the darkened forest and a group of soldiers came to a halt on their leaders signal. "Squad three, make contact with two and four. Maintain radio contact. One, stay close and keep your eyes peeled."

_"Sir, yes sir."_ The voice on the radio answered his command just as the team followed closely behind him while he maneuvered through the vast collection of trees. The scar on his wrist ached and he knew rain was soon to follow.

"Sergeant, what exactly are we looking for?"

"Same as always, Jenkins: anything that doesn't belong here." He pulled a scanner from one of the many pockets on his tactical pants and examined its screen in the darkness of night. "I'm coming to get you, you son of a bitch. Just you wait."

########

Lightning danced across the sky, briefly illuminating the thermal night vision of the bio-mask as Brielle clambered up a tree behind O'kaor. "Hey Ghost, why are we coming up here?"

"To gain a better vantage point over our prey. You speak often of hunting your own kind in your past life...was that a false truth?" She frowned at his question. She didn't like being called a liar in general, but she definitely didn't appreciate the fact that he always referred to her time on earth as her "past life".

"I was just asking, Ghost. You don't have to be an ass about it." He growled low in his throat and she rolled her eyes. "Can you at least tell me what we're hunting without being condescending?"

"What we hunt is decided by what we find." Brielle sighed in frustration before coming to rest on a branch just below the Yautja. He was crouched, scanning the area around them for any evidence of life. "You are more impatient than normal, soft one." Another flash of lightning decorated the night sky and a rapid beeping rang out from their gauntlets. O'kaor glanced at his own and bristled at the sight. "Three Young Bloods are dead. The others are close to it...and Zaiyu sent out a distress signal."

Brielle stood on her tiptoes and braced against his thigh in an attempt to see the screen filled with alien characters. "So that means what, exactly?"

"Dhadtoudi will go to him. T'ahrou will follow. We must go as well."

"But the hunt..."

"Loyalty to the clan overrides the hunt." He looked down at the small human as her delicate fingers brushed against his skin in the gaps of the thermal netting. "This is your chance to prove yourself and show your loyalty, soft one."

########

Dhadtoudi and T'ahrou leapt through the treetops in the direction of the distress beacon. Her heart pounded in her chest as her pulse raced at the physical exertion and concern for her brother alike. Never before in all of their hunts had he ever activated the signal, so she could only imagine what had happened to prompt it.

Small, cold droplets began to fall onto her skin from the sky above, and after a few minutes her hair was dripping with condensation. The wetness counteracted their footing on the bark, and before long Dhadtoudi found herself tumbling down when her foot slipped forward and her knee caved the opposite direction, briefly slipping out of socket before popping back into place.

She barely had time to gasp before a large hand grasped her chest plate and pulled her back up. Her eyes were wide behind her mask as T'ahrou placed her against the trunk of the tree and she tried to regulate her breathing. Her heart was pounding in her eardrums now and her leg ached, but the pain wasn't unbearable.

With a little more force than was necessary she tore her bio-mask from her face and looked upward, allowing the falling rain to conceal the angry tears that were beginning to stream down her cheeks. **_"It's not safe for you to travel like this, Dhadtoudi."_**

**_"It's fine..! Just give me a second..!"_** T'ahrou didn't move as he watched her with shielded eyes. **_"Don't try to run off without me. I'll kill you when I find you."_**

**_"Dhadtoudi..."_ **

**_"I SAID IT'S FINE!"_** A sharp whistle rang out before a piece of bark exploded just above the woman's head, T'ahrou's instinctively turning towards the source of the sound. Seven bipedal creatures watched them with lethal intensity, and the Yautja let out a warning growl. Dhadtoudi reattached her mask and trained the sights of her shoulder cannon in the middle of the group. A pulse of blue shot out, and a hail of bullets returned fire. T'ahrou leapt to another tree and launched a spear, piercing three survivors and pinning them on the ground in a neat pile of lifeless bodies.

Screams and gunshots echoed through the area and Dhadtoudi activated her shield before vaulting to the ground and rushing at one being with her gauntlet blades drawn. The metal sliced through the enemy with ease and it collapsed in a messy puddle of blood and entrails.

T'ahrou gripped another and ripped its head from its shoulders with his bare hands, the spine still attached to the skull. The female made quick work of the final aggressor as she gutted it with the dagger that she kept strapped to her thigh, and the body fell at her feet. Her chest heaved as the rapid pulsation of her vital stats displayed on the side of T'ahrou's vision, and he clicked softly as he approached the female.

**_"I swear on my father's name, I will kill every single one of these bastards if I have to...but they will NOT take my brother from me."_ **


	45. 45

_Sunlight danced through the room as Brielle stretched atop the bed, the fur pelt slipping from her bare legs as the sweater-like garment hung loosely around her shoulders.Firm, steady knocking echoed through the room and the woman called for the being to enter. The door slid open to reveal O'kaor holding a piece of metal that seemed dwarfed by his enormous hand. "I have something for you." His voice sounded more kind than it had in recent weeks, particularly since their sparring session which he had regrettably lost._

_"Really?" She stretched some more before sitting upright to look at the male. "What is it?"_

_He offered the item to her and she took it in her hands. It was a mask shaped perfectly to match the outline of her face. It closely resembled his own, though it lacked the clan marking. "You will need it for future hunts. It will...you will have a higher probability of survival." There it was again, the same old song that he used to sing: survival._

_Brielle smiled as she looked up at him now, their bodies inches apart. "And here I didn't get you anything, Ghost..." He clicked softly. "I don't even know how to repay you."_

_"Wear it proudly and survive. That is all that I require." Brielle smiled shyly and nodded, a light shade of red tinting her cheeks as she did so. "You have made significant progress, soft one. You have blessed me with great honor and pride. They believed me a fool for bringing you here, and yet you excel with every new task that you are given."_

_"Are you flirting with me, Ghost?" A long, heavy silence fell between them._

_"I...I do not understand."_

########

O'kaor and Brielle stopped their trek as a clap of thunder rumbled through the area. The Yautja referenced his gauntlet again to get an updated location of their teammates and he clicked softly to himself. "What's wrong?" Brielle asked the question with hands on her hips as she took the chance to catch her breath.

"I do not know...come, we must hurry."

"You go on ahead. I think I pulled something back there. I'll catch up." O'kaor looked at the female skeptically and she waved a dismissive hand. "It'll be fine, I can take care of myself." Still he watched her but she persisted. "It's fine, Ghost. They need your help and you can move faster without me slowing you down."

O'kaor clicked softly as he stepped closer to the human and she gazed upward into his eye shields. A moment later she was taken aback as he grabbed her forearms and lifted her in the air while turning his own body and placed her in a piggyback position. Brielle was about to protest when O'kaor spoke up. "Do not think for a moment that I will leave you here by yourself. We will go together or not at all."

A twinge of pain shot through her chest and Brielle fought the blush that was overtaking her face and spreading down to her neck. His muscles were massive, his leathery skin almost burning with his natural body heat. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and tried her best to do the same with her legs around his waist. A moment later they were moving again, the rate of speed almost dizzying as O'kaor pushed himself to his physical limit.

########

_O'kaor watched as Brielle moved to sit against the wall as she panted, sweat decorating every inch of fair skin. He hadn't believed at first that she'd made much progress in terms of training with Dhadtoudi, but the results were staggering. She was actually able to hold her own against him after all this time._

_"Hey Ghost...I want to ask you something." He waited for the question. "Why don't you have a mate?"_

_"I do not understand."_

_Brielle took a drink of water from a thermos and returned her attention to the large male. "Zaiyu has a mate, but he doesn't bring her around much. T'ahrou and Dhadtoudi are mates. Why don't you have one?" He pondered this for a long, silent moment._

_"There has not been a valuable female show interest." Her nose scrunched and brow furrowed as she glared at him, an expression he recognized all to well from the many times he would agitate Dhadtoudi. "Yautja strive to continue and improve strong bloodlines."_

_"So what, you haven't found someone with an impressive pedigree or something?"_

_"There are many. I have no interest."_

_"Why not?"_

_"They care only for the hunt, or only for offspring. We do not share the same ideals."_

_Brielle hummed thoughtfully. "Dhadtoudi isn't hyper focused on hunting and she can't have kids."_

_"Dhadtoudi is claimed by T'ahrou, and she does not interest me."_

_"Does anyone interest you?"_

_O'kaor's mandibles flexed slightly. "The female that holds my attention does not return my interest."_

_"Then she's a damn fool. You seem to me like you'd make a pretty good husband." His chest swelled with pride before Brielle pushed herself to her feet once more. "Now come on. Let's keep sparring."_

########

They came to a stop outside the perimeter of a large concrete building; it was massive like a factory but held an appearance resembling a hospital blended with an illegal drug manufacturing facility. Armed bipedal guards surrounded the building and the duo stood in silent observation before O'kaor placed Brielle on the ground in the shadows beside him.

"We have to get in there?"

"And kill every being that is not of our clan while we are there." Brielle jumped at the sound of Dhadtoudi's voice, and turned to see the taller woman standing mere inches from her body. "Are you up to the task?" Her voice took on a tone that Brielle had not heard in several months; it was laced with anger and accusation, and Brielle fought the urge to roll her eyes even from behind her mask.

"Are you questioning my abilities?"

"I am questioning your loyalty."

Brielle took a step closer and removed her mask to look up at Dhadtoudi with defiant, grey eyes. "I swear to you that my loyalty is steadfast. Nothing can break it."

A moment later, Dhadtoudi said something in a language that Brielle did not recognize and T'ahrou answered in kind. "Our best course of action is to enter from the top. We will find Zaiyu and the others and leave."

"The best thing would be to split up and take the facility at several different points at once. They'll have to spread out their numbers and it will be easier to wipe them out than it would to take on one big group."

"What makes you believe there will be many enemies inside?"

"Despite popular belief, I'm not an idiot!" The tips of their noses were nearly touching now and Brielle's heart was pounding against her eardrums. "You honestly thought I wouldn't recognize the trees? The foliage? The animals? The fucking 'indigenous species'?! I know what planet I'm on, and I know how these places work! They're gonna have at least fifty to seventy guards patrolling!"

"Perhaps-..." O'kaor began to speak up but Dhadtoudi quickly cut him off with a sharp hissing sound.

She turned her masked gaze back to Brielle and spoke in a low, threatening tone. "We will do it your way. But understand this, Brielle Ronaldi: if anything happens to my clan, I will hold you personally responsible." They stared at one another for a moment before Dhadtoudi walked away with T'ahrou following close behind.

Brielle flipped her the bird and turned to walk in the opposite direction but was met with the looming figure of O'kaor. "What?" He said nothing, only watched the human woman who in turn rolled her eyes and walked around him. "Whatever. I can't believe you actually let that bitch boss you around." She thought they had moved past the stuck-up aggression that Dhadtoudi was once again bringing to the surface, but now she realized that no matter how adamantly the taller woman wanted to deny it, at the end of the day she was still human.


	46. 46

The rain poured down as Brielle traversed the darkened woods, seeing only by the illumination brought on by the lightning as she had long since given up on her mask. She carried the object in her hand and debated throwing it away altogether, but Dhadtoudi would have her head if she left their tech behind.

"FREEZE!" Her body stiffened and her heart raced at the sound of a deep, masculine voice, and suddenly her vision was overtaken by several bright lights. "DON'T MOVE!" Footsteps drew near as one of the beings approached before halting abruptly. "Holy fuck... _Ronaldi_??"

"Who wants to know?" Malice laced her words still but the other being didn't seem to notice or care. She could barely see them issue the hand signal in the air before the beams of light lowered toward the ground. A moment later her vision began to clear and her grey eyes widened in surprise. "Goldstein?!"

"What the hell are you wearing, Ronaldi?" He gestured at her gladiator style armor that rested atop the fishnet bodysuit and Brielle shrugged. "Did you kill one?"

"One what?"

"One of the predators..! You've got their gear..!"

Brielle rubbed the back of her neck nervously. "It's a long story...but if you're here, is it safe to assume that they activated one of the sister facilities?"

"Goldstein nodded with a proud smile. "Abso-fucking-lutely! After the Brooks Foundation was destroyed, this one was up and running within a week. Come on, let's get you inside and get you briefed."

"I can't." He looked at the woman in confusion now. "Answer me this: did you capture one a little taller than me?"

"If you consider about twelve inches as 'a little taller', then yeah, why?"

########

Dhadtoudi and T'ahrou neared one of the recently cleared entrances with their cloaking shields activated. The metallic scent of blood flooded the woman's nostrils despite the ventilation provided by her mask, and she glanced back at the tree line that served as a temporary trophy-stash. Seven lifeless body hung upside down, the blood already drained from the carcasses.

**_"Don't dwell on it."_** She turned to face her mate, his thermal image watching her from the doorway. **_"We have a job to do."_** She nodded and moved to the door where she scanned a security badge that she'd lifted from one of the bodies, and placed a severed hand against a nearby data pad. The light flashed green and the door opened as she threw the items toward the tree line where they would be out of sight from prying eyes.

The duo stepped inside and let some of the water fall from their cloaked forms, Dhadtoudi wringing out her tresses as a surprising amount of liquid dripped to the ground below. When she was content they moved on, rounding corner after corner and hiding victim after victim. T'ahrou's mimicry system came in handy when someone heard a body fall. He would play a recording of a guard saying "everything's fine" or "all clear" which would deter the inquisitor.

Dhadtoudi had long since mastered the ability of throwing her voice, so from time to time she would make it sound as if she was speaking from inside a room which would in turn lead an unsuspecting guard inside for her and T'ahrou to follow behind and snuff out his life force. They were a lethal pairing, and they could predict one another's actions in such a way that verbal communication wasn't needed.

Minutes later they found themselves venturing into what appeared to be some sort of lab full of restraint systems and large containers with air lock systems. There was an exam table that held the butchered remains of a Yautja, their gauntlet resting atop a counter on the far side of the room with the blinking red light signaling the distress beacon. Although the face was unrecognizable with the skin filleted from the skull, the markings on the arms and legs announced that this was once Zaiyu.

Dhadtoudi's breath caught in her throat as she took several shaky steps toward what was left of her brother. His organs had been removed from his torso, but his emerald eyes remained in their sockets. They were cloudy, not the shimmering brilliance that they had been in the past. She reached out to touch his shoulder but recoiled when she felt that his skin was already cold. A sick feeling churned in Dhadtoudi's stomach and she fought the urge to retch.

She prayed over her brothers remains for several minutes, asking the warrior goddess to welcome Zaiyu to the afterlife with open arms.

Her senses were shot. Everything sounded muffled, her vision blurry. The sound of T'ahrou's angry roar sounded like little more than a grumbling whisper in the distance, and she didn't have the bearings to struggle when she was forced to the ground with her hands tied behind her back. Silent tears streamed down her cheeks as her mask displayed a notification that T'ahrou's heart rate was no longer at an elevated level, but instead plummeted within seconds. His vitals were still active, just abnormally low as if he were sleeping.

She didn't call out to him, and she didn't struggle against the unknown forces that dragged her out of the lab and through the hallways. Dhadtoudi managed to get one last look at Zaiyu's mangled corpse before the door slid shut, and she closed her eyes before she felt the sharp prick of a needle in her neck.


	47. 47

"I told you to lower the dose for the female."

"We thought-..."

"No you didn't." The first voice argued. "You didn't think. You almost killed her. I gave you the proper dosage specs and you blatantly ignored them. Do you have any idea what you almost cost us?" There was silence. "What's the status on the males?"

"Stable. The larger of the two is still incapacitated, but the other is awake and he's pissed."

"Move them to the bunker." The second voice stammered for a moment as it tried to form a coherent, argumentative sentence. "The bunker has reinforced holding cells, yes?" More silence followed. "Knock the smaller one out again and transport them both to the bunker. Put them in separate cells."

"What about the female?"

"Let me deal with her. As far as the public is concerned, Sarah Macintosh is dead...and it's going to stay that way." They watched the unconscious woman floating in the liquid of the cryogenic tank, her long black hair floating around her body as her bare skin revealed countless scars earned in her many years among the Yautja.

########

O'kaor struggled against the restraints from the moment he managed to force his eyes open. Numerous tubes and electrodes were attached to his body, and that only enraged him more. He knew Dhadtoudi and T'ahrou would never let him live this down; not only had he been captured by the humans once before, but here he was a second time in need of a rescue. It seemed like an eternity passed before a man donning a lab coat entered the room with a group of guards.

O'kaor let out a warning growl but that didn't deter the scientist. The man casually walked over to the creature and stuck a large needle into the side of his neck. The warrior could feel his muscles burning as his chest swelled with a painful pressure before his eyes grew heavy once more. He fought the sensation, but the sedative was too strong. He drifted into a state of unconsciousness once again despite his best efforts.

########

"Wake up. I said wake up!" A resounding crack echoed throughout the room as pain flooded Dhadtoudi's cheek. Her grey eyes flitted open as her head hung uselessly, her gaze reaching the metallic floor below. "You're stable enough to be out of the tank, so wake up and take a look at your new home."

She willed her body to move, taking in the sight of the woman before her. It was Brielle, but she was not wearing her armor. She was dressed in a dark tank top, black compression shorts, and jogging sneakers. Her hair was pulled back into a braid and she held a cup of warm coffee in one hand.

Two guards stood on either side of the doorway with rifles in their grasp. "Don't look so glum. Ghost did just fine when he was in your position. Granted he was never suspended from the ceiling, but he handled the overall experience relatively well." Dhadtoudi said nothing in response. Brielle grinned. **_"Do you ignore me?"_**

"You don't deserve the honor of speaking my language..."

"I deserve a lot of things, Dhadtoudi. And I intend on cashing in your dues."

########

T'ahrou woke to the sound of O'kaor yelling and cursing like a heathen. The larger of the two pushed himself to a seated position and became suddenly aware that his body had been stripped of its protective layers of clothing.

He grumbled at the sound of his cousin's persistent yelling and turned to chastise the younger male when he realized that O'kaor too was naked. **_"Would you shut up already? What happened?"_**

**_"They drugged us. They found a way to hide their heat signatures and they drugged us. And I'm gonna kill EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU DISHONORABLE INSECTS! DO YOU HEAR ME?! ESPECIALLY YOU, GREG!"_** He jabbed an accusatory finger at a guard on the far side of the room. **_"WHAT KIND OF A NAME IS 'GREG', ANYWAY? I'D BE DOING YOU A FAVOR! YOU'RE A DEAD MAN!"_**

**_"Where are our weapons?"_ **

**_"How the hell am I supposed to know? I didn't take them! I BET IT WAS YOU, GREG! WASN'T IT?!"_ **

T'ahrou growled low in his throat and O'kaor moved to sit against a nearby wall so he could face his cousin. Each of them were in a separate transparent container which were placed directly beside one another. **_"Where are the females?"_**

O'kaor's mandibles flexed as his eyes burned with rage. **_"Dhadtoudi is in a cryo tank. One of the Oomans was talking about it earlier."_**

**_"What about the other?"_** O'kaor didn't answer now, instead turned his head to avoid T'ahrou's striking gaze. **_"You couldn't have known, O'kaor."_**

**_"They can't be trusted. None of them. They're clever. They make you think they're on your side. They make you think they care about your wellbeing...but they only care about themselves."_ **

****

**_"Not all of them are like that."_ **

****

**_"Yes they are."_ **

****

**_"Is Dhadtoudi like that?"_ **

O'kaor thought for a moment before his mandibles flexed again. **_"It's only a matter of time before she turns on us too."_**


	48. 48

The silence of the darkened room was deafening as Dhadtoudi hung in the center of the room as if on display. The rope rubbed sore spots on her wrists and forearms as the joints felt as if they would slip out at any second. Fire seemed to burn throughout her nervous system, and her fingers pulsed with the ache of poor circulation.

The guards had retired for their evening meal, but they would be back soon. Her grey eyes searched the darkness and she was able to make out vague shapes and outlines, but nothing definitive.

Chill bumps covered her body as her bare skin was left exposed to the open air, still covered in the strange gel-like liquid from the preservation tank. Bits of the substance had already dried in her hair and left it coated in a sticky, crusty mess.

Images of her brother's lobotomized body flashed through her mind but Dhadtoudi tried to ignore them. It certainly had not been the first time she'd seen a dead body before, and if she was being completely honest, she had done far worse to her own victims.

A low hissing sound reached her ears and an uncomfortable chill raced throughout her body. She recognized the sound but couldn't place its origin. Dhadtoudi held her breath and focused on the sound before slowly rotating her hips in order to spin her body around. As the hissing continued Dhadtoudi was able to see a brilliant shade of white surrounded by a blackness that was darker than the shadows themselves. Her blood ran cold in her veins and her stomach twisted into knots.

The creature let out a bone-chilling screech that was met with Dhadtoudi's own fearful yet defiant cry as it rushed towards her.

########

The call echoed through the rest of the facility and inevitably reached the Yautja who perked up instantaneously. They looked at one another in disbelief before turning their focus to the newest addition to their spectators. "Well, it seems you're _both_ familiar with their top project." The woman chided as she sipped on a cup of bitter bean water, her dark locks finally dry from the rain.

T'ahrou let out a warning growl which she waved off with minimal concern. "Don't waste your breath, big boy. You can't touch me from in there." T'ahrou didn't revoke the warning but O'kaor stood to his full height and stepped to the transparent wall, his amber eyes baring down on the woman as she sipped her drink. "Is that supposed to impress me, Ghost? It's better than most humans, I'll give you that much."

"Where is Zaiyu?" She pursed her lips before averting her eyes from his stare and took another sip.

"He didn't survive...so they used his cadaver for scientific research."

O'kaor visibly tensed, and T'ahrou's growl became increasingly loud. "Why would you do that after all they've done for you?"

"I assure you that I had no part in his... _procedure_."

"Your word is as empty as your soul, Ooman." Her grey eyes widened slightly as her brow furrowed. "You have no honor, and now you stand no chance of survival."

"Do you plan to kill me?"

"No. But I will not help you when Dhadtoudi comes to 'collect dues owed'." The color fell from Brielle's face and O'kaor returned to his previous position against the wall.

########

The telltale screech of the black mass quieted as it's body seemed to slam against something hard and metallic before it let loose another piercing shriek. _A cage,_ she thought, _they trapped it. How the hell did they catch it?_

The door of the room opened behind her to reveal a beam of light from the corridor. Dhadtoudi glanced over her shoulder and saw the form of Brielle alongside an armed guard. The lights in the room flickered on to reveal the woman holding a tray with a few small pieces of food. Brielle placed the items in the center of the room and walked back out without a single word.

Dhadtoudi spat towards the door as a vicious snarl escaped her lips. **_"Tarei'hasan!! You are nothing!!"_** Her eyes burned with the threat of angry tears, and Dhadtoudi began to struggle against her restraints. **_"You are NOTHING!!"_** She repeated the words like a mantra, her heart pounding in her chest as adrenaline flooded her system and rage bubbled in her chest. She let loose a blood-curdling scream that was answered by another shriek of the black creature in the cage.


	49. 49

_"Dhadtoudi, what's bothering you?"_

_The woman was sitting on the bed with an abundance of tools and electrical devices scattered about. Her face was red with anger and her brow furrowed over her grey eyes as if she were focusing intently on whatever task she'd assigned herself. "Your blaster needs to be cleaned."_

_A low trill of clicks escaped his throat as he felt the onset of a headache nagging at his temple. "I just cleaned it this morning."_

_"Well I'm cleaning it again."_

_"Put it down."_

_"If it's not clean, it won't work right."_

_"I TOLD YOU TO PUT IT DOWN!" She recoiled at the sheer intensity of his voice, the blaster and tool both falling to the pelt covers below. A menacing growl filled the room as the male's chest heaved with each breath. "I don't know what has gotten into you, but you need to stop! You have torn apart every piece of equipment in this dwelling over the span of a few days for no reason at all."_

_"Okay...I'm sorry. I'll put it together and-..."_

_"You will leave it alone." Her eyes moved to watch him as he crossed the room and gathered the various parts in his arms and placed them on the nearby workbench. "You have done enough. I think you need to help Zaiyu with your mother. She hasn't been the same since Tah'kath passed."_

_Dhadtoudi inhaled deeply before rising to her feet and heading out of the room._ **"You are such a prick!"** _He growled at the human words that she spoke. He knew she primarily spoke that language when she was badmouthing someone or wanting to keep something secret. T'ahrou reasoned the purpose this time was for badmouthing._

_########_

_T'ahrou's eyes opened suddenly at the sound of a door opening on the far side of the room. A man dressed in a white lab coat stepped into the room that currently served as their prison cell. Thick framed glasses rested atop the man's nose as his eyes scanned a thick folder in his hands. T'ahrou looked to the side and noticed O'kaor was pacing the length of his own containment system._

The man spoke into a small handheld device which had a red button on top, and once he was done he stepped closer to the Yautja warriors. O'kaor came to a stop in front of the human and T'ahrou stood as well. "I don't know how familiar you are with human anatomy, but the woman that was found with you...what kind of experiments did your kind use her for?" Silence was his answer. He pushed the glasses higher on his nose with a single finger and cleared his throat. "We took the liberty of running a few tests on her while she was unconscious, and we were surprised to find a _lot_ of abnormalities in terms of her reproductive system. Would you happen to know anything about that?" Again no response as the two warriors watched him motionlessly. "I see. Well then, I suppose we'll simply have to cut into her to learn further details...though I _was_ hoping to avoid such drastic methods. It is quite painful, you know? Especially without the assistance of sedatives."

O'kaor glanced briefly toward his elder cousin before quickly returning his attention to the human.

The man grinned at T’ahrou. "Ah, so _you're_ the one who's responsible..! Am I correct to assume that mutating her internal setup was absolutely _excruciating_ for her?"

_**"T'ahrou..."** _

__

_**"You will not speak to this insect, is that clear?"**_ A moment later O'kaor nodded in understanding and resumed watching the scientist.

"If only we had another specimen that could provide us with some decent test results...then we wouldn't need to cut through her flesh and muscle to tear out her insides." The man in the lab coat looked T'ahrou straight in the eyes and gave a devilish smile. "Well that's just too bad..."


	50. 50

"Tell me you didn't sleep with that thing, Ronaldi..!"

"Of course not, Jennings. I might be a little fucked up in the head, but I'm not desperate." The man chuckled as he prepped an abundance of surgical items on a tray. "So what are those for?"

"Doc Martin wants to lobotomize the female and see what the hell they did to her reproductive system."

"What are you talking about?"

Jennings laughed now; it sounded more disgusted than amused. "The whole thing is ten kinds of fucked up. The ovaries, Fallopian tubes, uterus, all of it. It's not right. It looks like some kind of supernatural disease from a comic book." He looked at the woman from the corner of his eye. "They didn't mess with you, did they?"

Brielle shook her head. "No, not that I remember. You're sure it's not just a bad case of endometriosis?"

"It's definitely not that. It's nothing anyone has ever seen before...at least not anyone on earth. But one thing we know for sure is that her baby factory has a lot of aesthetic similarities with everything that we pulled out of the smallest male."

"Zaiyu." She corrected.

"The fuck's a Zaiyu?"

########

Brielle stepped into Dhadtoudi's room with four armed guards standing behind her. The tray of food was still in the center of the room and the taller woman's hands were still bound above her head, her body dangling above the floor. "You're stubborn, Dhadtoudi. I'll give you that much." She looked at the watch that adorned her wrist and clicked her tongue. "It's been two days...you can only go so long before you die of dehydration."

Still the captive showed no signs of life and Brielle motioned for the guard to check it out. They approached rather casually, the smallest of the group reaching up to check the woman's pulse. Just as his fingers made contact with the spot on Dhadtoudi's neck, she lashed out with her teeth and completely detached two fingers from the man's hand.

He jumped back, screaming and bleeding as he clutched his injured limb. Dhadtoudi licked a streak of blood from her lips as she smiled, the crimson substance dripping from a few of her once-pearly teeth.

The other men lifted the barrels of their rifles to aim at Dhadtoudi as Brielle called for backup. Dhadtoudi kicked out and wrapped her legs around the neck of the closest guard and within a moment a sickening SNAP echoed through the room as his life was suddenly extinguished. Another was taken aback when Dhadtoudi used her toes to pull a knife from her most recent victims corpse, and effortlessly raised her leg to where she could place the weapon in her hand and began to sever her bonds.

"Don't make one more move!" Dhadtoudi halted her escape as she glanced over her shoulder at the remaining guard and gave an innocent smile.

"If you insist." She released the hilt of the knife and as it fell she maneuvered her right hand in such a way that every joint from her wrist to her finger tips slipped out of socket and she was able to remove her hand from the rope. Within a moment she caught the knife mid-air and launched it at the survivor, the blade finding purchase between the man's eyes. "That was more than one."

Dhadtoudi used her free hand to grasp the higher parts of the rope and pull herself up until there was enough slack to free her left as well. She fell to the ground with a heavy thud before she staggered, her legs no longer accustomed to supporting her weight.

Once she found her balance again Dhadtoudi rolled her head side to side to pop her neck and stretched her shoulders before tenderly massaging her sore wrists.

"How the hell did you do that?"

Dhadtoudi looked at Brielle with a smug grin, bright red blood still covering her lips and running down her neck. "I am just that good."

It was at this moment that a group of about ten guards rushed into the room with weapons drawn. "Don't kill her yet," Brielle announced to her lackeys, "Doc Martin wants her to be in relatively decent health when she arrives for her...procedure."

########

O'kaor had been trying to concoct some way to escape as he was sure T'ahrou was doing as well. From his observation, there was no clear way out of the containment systems, but if this facility was anything like the last, the humans would have to open them at some point in order to run tests on the Yautja.

The sound of a scuffle near the room's entrance pulled their attention to that area and before long heavy footfalls could be heard racing down the corridor. "Get a hold of her! Get her on the ground!" The voice belonged to a man, but soon his words blended with the indiscernible shouts of other facility members.

A loud, angry scream filled the area now. T'ahrou perked up at the sound and was beating against the wall of the containment system as the screams persisted. She cursed them as the struggle continued. "Hit her with the Haldol! We need to get her to Martin's lab!"

The transparent walls shook under the force of T'ahrou's massive fist though they held true. Gunshots rang out and a thick, red substance began to leak beneath the doorway as everything on the other side fell silent. T'ahrou let loose a bellowing roar as he began to kick the walls of his would-be prison cell as hard as his body would physically allow.

The door slid open to reveal a woman with long brown hair holding a rifle in her hand. "Will you shut the hell up already?"


	51. 51

_"I want to learn to use the throwing disk."_

_"Absolutely not."_

_"But Ghost, I'm doing really well with the other weapons!"_

_"If you are lucky you will lose an arm. If you are unlucky you will lose your head or half your body."_

_Brielle groaned as she looked over the dozens of weapons that decorated the wall of O'kaor's dwelling. Dhadtoudi and T'ahrou were currently on a hunting trip, but O'kaor remained behind to keep an eye on their human counterpart. This was the first time that she had been inside his dwelling despite being on this planet for over four months. It was smaller than Dhadtoudi's dwelling but the layout was similar. Skulls lined most of the walls, and where there wasn't a skull, a weapon filled its spot._

_"Okay, so what do you suggest?"_

_O'kaor's mandibles clicked together slowly as he thought, his amber eyes searching for something in particular. "You will train with this." He retrieved a spear from a high mount on the wall and handed it to Brielle who inspected the intricate designs that were engraved on the dark silver metal. It was a large weapon, but surprisingly light. "This is Dhadtoudi's chosen weapon. She is abrasive but is also a skilled warrior. This should be simple for you."_

_"Yeah but the difference between me and her is that she's skilled. I'm not."_

_"You will learn. Dhadtoudi did not master the **ki'cti-pa** in a single day."_

_"How long did it take?"_

_"Two days." Brielle was about to voice her displeasure at the idea of being compared to the other female when a deep, rumbling sound accompanied by a series of rapid clicks._

_"Were you just fucking with me Ghost??" The male erupted into an all-out fit of laughter now and walked to the center of the room that served as a personal training dojo. "You're such an ass! Just for that, I'm swearing a vendetta against you!" She jabbed a finger towards him for emphasis as she moved to stand opposite of him. "We won't stop until I beat you...not that it'll take very long anyway..."_

_"I believe the **pyode-amedha** have a saying: 'pride cometh before the fall'."_

_Brielle nodded as she got into a fighting stance. "Yeah, but I have the skills to back it up. You're going down one way or another Ghost, and when you do, I'm going to pick your punishment."_

_"Punishment?"_

_"Yeah! When I lose I always have to do some kind of miserable task like try to bathe Dhadtoudi's demon dog even though he hates water. Or I have to do an ungodly number of squats and lunges."_

_"It builds endurance and improves combat posture."_

_"Well it's miserable and I'm going to get vengeance!"_

_O'kaor tilted his head to the side, amused at her brazen threat. "You have until the end of the first match to decide my fate, soft one."_

########

Brielle watched as Doc Martin used his scalpel to carve a large slit across the lower part of Dhadtoudi's stomach. At first her eyes went wide with shock and she remained silent, but when he began to cut through the layers of muscle, the woman lost her composure and began to scream in pain. She had been given noform of anesthetic, nor painkillers, nor muscle relaxers.

Dhadtoudi's wrists and ankles had been placed in metal restraints atop the surgical gurney as she was left to the nonexistent mercy of the facility's lead scientist. Despite the tortured cries of the would-be patient, Doctor Martin made small talk with Brielle about such things as the weather, how the latest sports game had ended, and how his new grand baby would be at his home for the holidays.

He prattled on relentlessly until finally the room fell silent. Brielle's eyes darted to Dhadtoudi's chest and watched as it shakily rose and fell; she was still breathing. The woman had passed out from the sheer amount of pain. Brielle felt a strange pain erupt in her chest and her stomach began to do flips as she watched the middle aged man shove his gloved hands into the newly-formed hole in Dhadtoudi's stomach.

"Oh...oh dear God..!" Martin exclaimed.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothings wrong," he began, "quite the opposite! There's a _mass_ in her uterus..!" Brielle's heart sank as she felt the blood rush from her face. "This might be the single greatest discovery that our foundation has ever come across!"

He retrieved a handheld flashlight and shone the bright light against the organ in question, revealing a shadowy figure inside that had small tendril-like appendages protruding from its skull. The tiny creature was curled into itself, its small feet kicking out every so often. "She was pregnant..." Her words came as a whisper as she thought aloud to herself, feeling a strong, sudden onset of nausea overcome her body.

Brielle grabbed the first thing she saw: a small tool used to cauterize internal wounds. With all of her might she slammed the device into the side of Doctor Martin's head. The tool found purchase in his temple and the man fell to the floor with a thud.

Brielle watched Dhadtoudi's unconscious body for several minutes before finally reaching down to grab hold of the scientist's arms and dragged him to a corner of the room. His bloodied surgical gloves left crimson streaks across the floor as she moved him.

Her heart pounded in her chest as she looked down at the body. Her shoulders heaved with every adrenaline-fueled breath. Her grey eyes shifted to the unconscious form atop the gurney and she approached the woman, once again taking in the view of the small bulge inside the uterus. Against her better judgement, Brielle took a curved needle and thread and began to stitch the large incision. Once her task was complete she rummaged through some drawers and cabinets until she found gauze and bandages. She used them to tightly wrap around the taller woman's abdomen to help prevent her insides from falling out.

"I can't move you on my own..." she whispered as she contemplated her options.


	52. 52

_"The best thing would be to split up and take the facility at several different points at once. They'll have to spread out their numbers and it will be easier to wipe them out than it would to take on one big group."_

_"What makes you believe there will be many enemies inside?"_

_"Despite popular belief, I'm not an idiot!" The tips of their noses were nearly touching now and Brielle's heart was pounding against her eardrums. "You honestly thought I wouldn't recognize the trees? The foliage? The animals? The fucking 'indigenous species'?! I know what planet I'm on, and I know how these places work! They're gonna have at least fifty to seventy guards patrolling!"_

_"Perhaps-..." O'kaor began to speak up but Dhadtoudi quickly cut him off with a sharp hissing sound._

_She turned her masked gaze back to Brielle and spoke in a low, threatening tone. "We will do it your way. But understand this, Brielle Ronaldi: if anything happens to my clan, I will hold you personally responsible." They stared at one another for a moment before Dhadtoudi walked away with T'ahrou following close behind._

_Brielle flipped her the bird and turned to walk in the opposite direction but was met with the looming figure of O'kaor. "What?" He said nothing, only watched the human woman who in turn rolled her eyes and walked around him. "Whatever. I can't believe you actually let that bitch boss you around." She thought they had moved past the stuck-up aggression that Dhadtoudi was once again bringing to the surface, but now she realized that no matter how adamantly the taller woman wanted to deny it, at the end of the day she was still human._

_The rain poured down as Brielle traversed the darkened woods, seeing only by the illumination brought on by the lightning as she had long since given up on her mask. She carried the object in her hand and debated throwing it away altogether, but Dhadtoudi would have her head if she left their tech behind._

_"FREEZE!" Her body stiffened and her heart raced at the sound of a deep, masculine voice, and suddenly her vision was overtaken by several bright lights. "DON'T MOVE!" Footsteps drew near as one of the beings approached before halting abruptly. "Holy fuck...Ronaldi??"_

_"Who wants to know?" Malice laced her words still but the other being didn't seem to notice or care. She could barely see them issue the hand signal in the air before the beams of light lowered toward the ground. A moment later her vision began to clear and her grey eyes widened in surprise. "Goldstein?!"_

_"What the hell are you wearing, Ronaldi?" He gestured at her gladiator style armor that rested atop the fishnet bodysuit and Brielle shrugged. "Did you kill one?"_

_"One what?"_

_"One of the predators..! You've got their gear..!"_

_Brielle rubbed the back of her neck nervously. "It's a long story...but if you're here, is it safe to assume that they activated one of the sister facilities?"_

_"Goldstein nodded with a proud smile. "Abso-fucking-lutely! After the Brooks Foundation was destroyed, this one was up and running within a week. Come on, let's get you inside and get you briefed."_

_"I can't." He looked at the woman in confusion now. "Answer me this: did you capture one a little taller than me?"_

_"If you consider about twelve inches as 'a little taller', then yeah, why?"_

_"What condition is he in?"_

_Goldstein grinned as he feigned contemplation, propping the assault rifle against his shoulder as he did so. "It's stable for now." He noticed Brielle's expression fall a bit and he chuckled. "You know how we work, Brielle. Now come on, they could use your help in the labs. Besides...I wanna know how the hell you got their tech!"_

_"I'm not going with you, Goldstein. I have a job to do. It'll be in your best interest to take your team and leave."_

_"Fuck that! This is the best chance we've ever had to study these sons of bitches!" He stepped forward until he was mere inches from her face now, his voice taking on a deeper, threatening tone. "If you care so much about the 'condition' of that thing, you'll come with us. Because if you don't, we'll kill you, and then I'll go and kill it myself."_

_"So you're saying if I come with you to the facility...you'll help me keep him alive?"_

_"All I'm saying is that if you don't, then that will guarantee its death."_

########

Brielle's footfalls echoed in the hallway as she approached the max-security lab that was protected by four guards, one of which was Goldstein. The soldier turned to greet her with a casual grin but she didn't return the gesture. "Ah, there she is! What's kickin', Ronaldi?"

"Doc Martin wants the two remaining males brought to his lab for examination."

Goldstein's smile faded away. "How the fuck are we supposed to move them?"

"We sedate them like I did at the Brooks Foundation. I'll fill their tanks with the knockout gas, and your team will help me transport them to Doc Martin's."

########

T'ahrou and O'kaor spent the next few hours trying to find a way to break out and get to their gear. They contemplated where it might be hidden and how many enemies they would have to go through to get to it.

They were surprised to see Brielle return, let alone with four armed guards pushing two metal gurneys. "It will only take a minute." She approached the control panel for the containers and typed in a few prompts. "Once the gas gets into their systems, they'll be incapacitated and your guys can bring them out."

The leader of the group watched Brielle closely as she entered the appropriate codes and a gas began to fill the containers. The males looked up at the vents and O'kaor flicked his mandibles to taste the air. He recognized this smell; it was the same as one of the medicines Brielle had used on him at the last facility.

He turned his focus to the woman and narrowed his amber eyes at her before prattling something off to T'ahrou in their native tongue. The larger male growled as he began to pace the length of his own cell while O'kaor simply moved to sit against the wall with his arms folded over his broad chest.

Within moments O'kaor's eyes flitted shut and T'ahrou staggered against the wall closest to Brielle, another trill of clicks slipping from his throat as he fell to his knees and then the floor.

A long, silent moment passed before Brielle disengaged the locking mechanism on both containers. "Make it quick. We need to get them to the lab with the female before they wake up. We need to see how they interact."


	53. 53

O'kaor felt the humans struggle as they tried to hoist his body onto the rolling device, the cold metal pressing firmly against his wrists and ankles as they latched the restraints to hold him in place. The cool air of the facility whooshed across his bare skin as they rolled him quickly through the hallways until they reached their destination. A familiar scent - no, two of them - were mixed into the air. As they moved him from the metallic surface to the floor before rolling the device away. He could hear as the second batch of guards carted T'ahrou into the same area and placed him on the floor beside O'kaor.

They talked amongst themselves for several minutes before finally leaving the room, the door sealing behind them as they went. Light footfalls crossed the room toward the Yautja, and O'kaor began to taste the sickeningly sweet scent of human blood on the air around him. "They're gone," a familiar voice called, "you can get up now." O'kaor waited another long moment before opening his eyes and turning to look in the direction of the voice. Brielle was staring back at him, her grey eyes appearing more somber than usual.

O'kaor turned to let T'ahrou know the coast was clear but froze when he was met with the unconscious form of Dhadtoudi.

Her lightly tanned skin was bare save for the bright white bandages that surrounded her abdomen. Her breath came in shallow increments and purplish blue bruises decorated the bend of each elbow as well as the back of each hand. T'ahrou noticed as well and he edged closer to the small female. His amber eyes looked over her body, taking in every new blemish that decorated her body.

**_"I couldn't move her by myself without doing more damage."_ **

****

**_"What happened?"_** O'kaor's voice was deep as a newfound anger began to bubble in the pit of his stomach.

**_"Martin, the lead scientist...he used her for his research. They investigated the abnormalities in her reproductive system, but..."_** the woman took a shaky breath now, **_"I did what I could to patch her up, and I gave her a dose of antibiotics to fight off any potential infections, as well as something to help with the pain and inflammation."_**

**_"You have no right!"_** T'ahrou was standing face to face with Brielle now, and for a moment she was thankful for the transparent barrier between them. **_"You will pay for your transgressions!"_** This was the first time he'd ever spoken to her directly, and she only wished that it had been under better circumstances. **_"You allowed this to happen! You are no less responsible than the other Ooman!"_** He spit on the glass where her face was. **_"Leave us."_** Brielle opened her mouth to argue but decided against it and did as the large male requested. She walked out of the lab and down the hallway toward the cafeteria area. **_"I should have let Dhadtoudi kill her when she had the chance."_**

"She had us placed in here with Dhadtoudi. Do you honestly believe she means us ill will?"

**_"Oomans know nothing but greed and dishonor. You said yourself that she is just as the others."_** O'kaor fought the urge to recoil at the derogatory term. It was one that T'ahrou had long since made an active decision to remove from his vocabulary, and he too had all but abandoned the term not long after meeting Brielle.

**_"Not all of them are alike. You believe this."_ **

**_"SHE is no different!"_** His mandibles flexed angrily at O'kaor and the smaller of the two thought it wise to keep his opinions to himself from thereon-out.


	54. 54

"You mean to tell us that they took you _with_ them?" Brielle nodded once as Goldstein shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Ronaldi...you know what this means." She nodded again. "Once I enter this report-..."

"I'm aware of the protocol." Her tone was flat and emotionless, her grey eyes distant as she stared at the wall. "Let's just get it over with."

The man let out a sigh before pulling a cigarette from behind his ear and lit it with a small silver lighter and rose to his feet. "Come on then." She followed him out of the room and through the facility until they arrived at the directors office.

Goldstein made quick work of the remaining nicotine and through the butt to the side before pushing the door open and gesturing for Brielle to enter first.

A tall blonde man with deep brown eyes and a chiseled jawline looked up at the two visitors, a hint of confusion blending with his irritated expression. "Explain, Goldstein."

The soldier made sure to lock the door before turning to face his superior with his hands folded behind his back. "Mister Keizer, it has come to my attention that Doctor Ronaldi was not in hiding following the destruction of the Brooks Foundation." The man pushed the stack of papers he'd been reviewing to the side before leaning back in his large office chair. "She was in the custody of the predators."

Keizer's eyes widened slightly and he turned his focus to the woman. "Is this true, doctor?"

"Yes sir."

"How did this happen?"

Brielle thought long and hard before she answered the tricky question. "They were impressed by my skills as a soldier, and they thought my scientific knowledge could be useful to their people."

"'Their people'..." he repeated slowly. "Doctor tell me...what was your involvement in the destruction of the Brooks Foundation?"

"I had no involvement in its destruction, sir."

"But you did take part in the predators escape, correct?" She said nothing. "What experiments did they run on you?"

"None, sir."

Keizer scoffed as he folded his hands in his lap. "So why did they make the other woman suffer through such atrocities but not you?"

“Dhadtoudi has spent most of her life with the Yau-...the predators. I can only imagine the changes that were made to her body were of her own volition."

"Why?"

Brielle shifted her feet slightly as the man stared her down. "The larger of the two males that are currently housed in your facility is her mate. The adjustment was likely made to allow her body to conceive and lessen the chances of a miscarriage."

Keizer's interest was peaked now. "You mean to say that the abnormality in her reproductive system could be due to a crossbreed hellspawn growing inside her?" _Shit, I said too much._ "Doctor Ronaldi, I regret to inform you that due to your prolonged exposure to, and cohabitation with the predator species, you must be taken in as a ward of this facility. Effective immediately you will no longer be referred to as Doctor Brielle Ronaldi, but instead as subject 0004 in the predator research project." Her heart sank. "Goldstein, take her and place her with the others. She is not to receive any special treatment, is that clear?"

"Yes sir." Goldstein opened the door of the office once more and Brielle shuffled out of the room. As they walked down the corridor, Goldstein spoke up once again. "Do you want me to get a female to dress you out?"

"No." Goldstein nodded and they continued the rest of the trip in silence."


	55. 55

Brielle and Goldstein stepped into the lab without speaking. The Yautja watched as they approached the holding cell and Brielle began to undress, offering each removed item of clothing to the soldier. Before long she turned to face the entrance of the device, O'kaor's amber gaze boring into her very soul. "Open it. They won't leave the matriarch’s side." Reluctantly Goldstein complied and prompted the controls to release the locking mechanism.

The door slid away to allow the woman entry and she stepped silently across the threshold before the door locked shut behind her once more.

Dhadtoudi shifted slightly on the floor. She turned to look at the smaller woman with hazy eyes. **_"You..."_** she gasped for breath as she adjusted her position, **_"w-what...did you do?"_**

****

**_"I left everything where it belonged and stitched you up."_** Dhadtoudi watched her for a moment as she struggled to hold her focus on the smaller woman before she finally gave up and stared at the ceiling above. T'ahrou continued to watch her however, but she resisted the urge to squirm beneath his gaze.

**_"Why are you here?"_** O'kaor spoke up now and Brielle shrugged.

**_"As far as they're concerned, I'm one of you. My new name is 'subject 0004'."_ **

**_"But why not keep you separated?"_ **

Brielle was silent for a moment as she contemplated her response. **_"They know that T'ahrou and Dhadtoudi are mates...it stands to reason that they probably think the same of you and I."_**

O'kaor blinked rapidly as T'ahrou snorted in disgust, but Brielle kept her focus on the lab entrance.

########

Several hours passed in silence and Dhadtoudi had fallen into a restless sleep while Brielle opted to sit with her back against a transparent wall with her knees pulled up against her chest. Her grey eyes were surrounded by dark circles and she was clearly fighting sleep. T'ahrou sat between Dhadtoudi and the door while O'kaor placed himself near Brielle. **_"Did you ever think you would be in this position?"_**

Brielle hummed thoughtfully as she shook her head. **_"Did you think you would be in this position a second time?"_**

O'kaor clicked in irritation which elicited a giggle from the woman. **_"Did you do this to Dhadtoudi because you still held a grudge against her for her initial reaction towards you?"_**

**_"I didn't do this. What I said was intended to be an empty threat. I didn't know they would actually do it. I was kept in the dark just like you three. You know how I feel about that kind of thing."_** The male was silent for a moment and she continued. **_"When I found out about the pup...I did what I could to correct the situation."_**

_"What pup?"_

A low growl left T'ahrou's throat now, but O'kaor ignored him.

**_"Dhadtoudi is pregnant."_** His amber eyes widened and he turned to look at T'ahrou in surprise, his tresses arching with the motion. **_"I killed the man that cut her and I did my best to stitch the wound. There will likely be a scar."_**

**_"How is this possible, T'ahrou?"_ **

**_"We will not speak of this now..!"_** The larger male's words were laced with malice as he stared directly at Brielle, his mandibles flared as he did so.

**_"T'ahrou..."_** he growled at the woman again. **_"On my honor, I didn't want any of this to happen."_**

**_"You have no honor, Ooman."_** She gave a sad smile before returning her attention to the doorway. Minutes later she was overcome by the weight of sleep, and T'ahrou and O'kaor were left in silence.


	56. 56

_Goldstein sat alongside Ronaldi’s_ _gurney in the medical ward, silently watching her as she slept. Her breaths were labored and uneven, but she was alive. She would be lucky if she could manage to ever walk again._

_He hadn't seen the glint of the scope in the distance, but she'd been watching from her own perch. She fired a shot and her bullet found purchase in the sniper's shoulder, but he managed to return fire on the woman. His own bullet buried itself into her abdomen and continued on until it pushed its way completely out of her body. Her spinal cord had been severed in the process. The doctors had done what they could, but her recovery couldn't be guaranteed._

_'Forty seven...' he thought to himself. 'You've saved my ass forty seven times. I'll be damned if I turn my back on you now.'_

_He'd already developed a plan. He would build a sturdy ramp for his porch. He would put in a request for a service dog. He would fix up the spare room of his house. He would drive her to every appointment and rehab session he could, and arrange transportation for her when he was gone on missions. He would sell his speed boat, the sports car, and every other unnecessary "toy" that he owned in order to help pay the medical bills._

_She would throw a fit, he knew...but he didn't care. They had made a pact years ago that they would always have each other's back no matter how far up shit creek they got._

########

Goldstein watched on the camera feed as she interacted with the predators. The larger seemed a little aggressive toward her, but that smaller one...it made his skin crawl.

When she'd first made him aware of exactly what she'd been up to for the year she'd been gone, and the situation between the other woman and the larger male, his stomach had lurched violently. He asked if she'd shacked up with one of their kind, but she never gave a straight answer. Granted, they'd decided long ago that they shouldn't pursue an intimate relationship lest it jeopardize a mission, but that didn't mean he didn't still feel jealous when he learned of her having relationships with other men. But the thought of her hooking up with one of these things...he just couldn't stomach that.

_'Shut the fuck up! You don't know that you wouldn't do the same if you'd been in her shoes. Maybe the females are actually hot?'_

He chastised himself as his inner argument continued. The only thing he was sure of in this moment was that it had nearly broken him having to walk her to Keizer's office and then place her in that containment cell. She was still the same Ronaldi that he'd known for so many years, but as far as the facility was concerned, if you're directly exposed to extraterrestrials, you have to be treated as an extraterrestrial. They wanted to see how you interact with them. How you each handle different stressful situations. And in the event of male-female exposure...they wanted to observe possible mating rituals.

His skin crawled at the thought of it. The other woman was in no condition for such a thing, so that left Brielle as the only option.

He noticed her shivering on the live feed. She was naked, held captive in what was more or less a giant glass box, and she was sitting on the cold ground. Her exhaustion definitely wouldn't help the situation.

Goldstein tensed as he watched the smaller male shift closer to Brielle until their arms were touching. A moment later she leaned her head and legs against him as well, and not long after, the male lifted her off the ground and placed her in his lap. She curled into his body and rested her head against his chest. His mandibles brushed against the top of her head ever so slightly.

The sight of it was enough to boil Goldstein's blood, and he became completely oblivious to the larger male doing the same for the other woman as he kept his massive arms wrapped protectively around her body.

Goldstein pushed himself to his feet and walked out of the security command room and headed down the corridor. He said nothing as he passed various soldiers and scientists alike, only chain-smoked the last three cigarettes in his pack. He'd be damned if he was going to sit there and watch her get freaky with some crab-faced alien monstrosity. They may be built like disturbingly tall, perfectly proportioned body builders from the neck down, but that didn't mean the thought of it was any easier to choke down.


	57. 57

_"Not too bad if I say so myself..!" Brielle took in the sight of the paper target that displayed five bullseye torso shots and twelve more on the headshots. Goldstein agreed as he removed the target from its spot on the board._

_"Yeah, not bad at all for your first real target practice in almost two years." He counted the bullet holes again. "You only missed three shots. Impressive, Ronaldi."_

_"Yeah well, the sights were off."_

_Goldstein hummed disbelievingly as he replaced the spent target with a new one and led Brielle back to their makeshift firing line. The bright orange spray paint decorated the dead grass nearly fifty yards away, but so far they were pleased with the outcome. "Brielle, I'm gonna be completely honest with you." She sighed. She knew it was a conversation that she didn't want to have if he was calling her by her first name. "It's been two years. We've been living together the entire time."_

_"Goldstein, we've talked about this."_

_"I know, but hear me out. You won't have to take missions anymore because of your injury. You could retire. We could-..."_

_"No we couldn't." He watched her carefully now, just as he always did. "I appreciate everything that you've done for me. You know I do. But this...we couldn't be in a relationship together."_

_"Tell me why."_

_"Your drinking, my temper, both of our intolerance for long lasting emotional connections. And frankly, I really don't want to be tied down."_

_He sighed and pulled a cigarette from behind his ear and lit it with a lighter that he kept in his pocket. He took a long drag and sent the smoke billowing into the autumn breeze. "Don't play mind games with me, Brielle. What's the real reason?"_

_"I still plan on taking missions."_

_"You plan on being a merc." She ignored the correction and Goldstein sighed again. "I'll put in for retirement at the end of the month." She looked at him in confusion now. "I'll be damned if you're gonna go off on some bullshit by yourself. If you go, I'm going with you. Someone's gotta keep an eye on you."_

########

Her eyes opened as a warning growl rumbled through O'kaor's chest. She noticed that T'ahrou was growling as well, but Dhadtoudi remained asleep. She looked up at O'kaor and noticed he was staring at the doorway; Jennings was standing there with a stern expression gracing his dark features. "What the hell's wrong with her?" He gestured to Dhadtoudi. "She's too pale, and her heart rate is extremely low."

"It's probably a reaction to the painkillers and antibiotics..." Brielle stretched slightly as she adjusted her position in Okaor's lap. "It's probably caused by the genetic modification. This one almost died when I gave him a dose at the Brooks Foundation." She glanced up at O'kaor before returning her focus to Jennings. "They have something similar to an Epi-Pen in their gear. It's filled with bright green fluid. If you can get that, they'll live."

"What do you mean 'they'?"

"The way their hierarchy works is that if the matriarch dies, the males in her roost have to kill themselves. They live to protect the females. So if she dies, they all die. The males will fight to the death, and it won't be pretty." Jennings visibly tensed as he took in the information. "It's all a matter of how much you value your test subjects."

Without another word Jennings left the room and O'kaor looked down at Brielle. **_"You would do well not to slander my reputation, soft one."_**

She smirked at the remark on her allergen statement. **_"Just wait. You'll thank me later."_**


	58. 58

Jennings returned with an armful of metallic gear and an armed guard following close behind. "I couldn't figure out where they hid it, so I brought the whole setup."

"That's fine," Brielle said as she stood and approached the door of the containment system, "I can get it out. There's an authorization code."

"Ah, ah, ah..." the man shook his head as he placed the armor on a nearby desktop and gathered a pen and notebook. "You scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours. We need you to participate in an experiment." Brielle's nose crinkled as her grey eyes narrowed into slits. "Under normal circumstances I would try to avoid asking you, but since that one is...incapacitated..."

"Jennings-..."

"You know how these things go, Ronaldi. You would have to make the same call if you were in my position."

########

_Brielle was training alone in O'kaor's dwelling as he had to gather a replacement part for one of his techie devices. He had been gone for a few hours and the woman had worked up quite a sweat before moving to the bathing area to clean off._

_She reveled in the feeling of the warm water tingling against her skin, the various scents mixing through the air as she leaned her head back on the ledge of the oasis pool. The first few times she had bathed here she had resorted to the rustic and musty scents that O'kaor often used, but after a few days she came in to find a variety of more feminine aromas. Various floral and fruity scents were now placed in transparent jars alongside his own metallic canisters. This evening she had opted for something that resembled sweet pea mixed with raspberry._

_As she thought back on her earlier training her attention was captured by the sound of the door opening behind her. She peeked through her lashes to see an upside down image of O'kaor cleaning his various weapons and placing them on the nearby counter. He let his utility belt and metallic loincloth fall to the floor with little regard for the excessive clanking noise that followed._

_"Long day?" He clicked in response as he removed his chestplate, shoulder guards,and thermal netting bodysuit. She had grown accustomed to seeing him strip just as she had with Dhadtoudi. Obviously the Yautja were less concerned with modesty than humans, and O'kaor had been quick to remind her that "it was his dwelling and he could do as he pleased" the first time she had dared to ask why he was barging in on her bathing. "Wanna talk about it?"_

_"Why would I?"_

_"I dunno. Maybe I just want to hear about it." O'kaor paused for a moment and clicked softly to himself before shaking his head. He never did understand why humans insisted on such trivial things such as this. "Did you get the part for your thing?"_

_"I acquired what was needed." She pursed her lips at his borderline pissy attitude but decided not to remark on it. "You are using a new bathing oil."_

_"Yeah, you picked out some good ones." He clicked again, this time it was softer._

_"Ath-Meye believed you would enjoy it." Brielle felt a slight flutter in her stomach. "I will inform her of the good news when next I see her."_

_Brielle sat up and turned to face O'kaor now, folding her arms atop the ledge and resting her cheek on her forearm. "She's T'ahrou's mother, right?" O'kaor nodded. "Will I ever get to meet her?"_

_O'kaor was silent for a moment before clicking in a tone that suggested he was uncomfortable, his mandibles flaring slightly as he did so. "If you wish."_

_"Is she intimidating?"_

_"When it is necessary." Brielle grinned slightly and watched O'kaor as he gathered his own nightly essentials. His leg muscles flexed as he stepped towards the pool and knelt down on the edge to pour in some of the oil and mix it around in the water with his clawed hand._

_He climbed into the scented liquid and let loose a purring sound as his body was enveloped by the water. "Ghost..." He clicked in response. "Why don't you have a mate?"_

########

"Ronaldi..!" She jolted at the sound of her name as Jennings stared daggers into her. "Do we have a deal or not?" She turned and looked at O'kaor before returning her gaze to the scientist.

"It's not that simple. There's mating rituals involved, and-..."

"All the better. We'll take all we can get." _I'm sure you will..._ Her grey eyes shifted to the guard and she made a suggestive motion to Jennings who waved a dismissive hand. "You're dismissed, Morvell. I'm sure they'll need some sense of privacy." The soldier seemed to have an almost disappointed expression on his face as he left the room. "Now...proceed."

Brielle moved to stand opposite of O'kaor, his amber gaze following her every step. _**"I'm sorry."**_

__

_**"Is this really necessary?"** _

__

_**"If I knew there was another way, I would tell you."**_ O'kaor clicked angrily as he rose to his full height and began pacing from one side of the cell to the other while he kept his eyes fixed on the woman before him.

**_"This is asinine."_** She nodded in agreement and readied a fighting stance just as she'd been taught so many months ago. O'kaor flared his mandibles wide as a sharp hiss filled the area, and Brielle rushed towards him.

O'kaor swiped a clawed hand toward her neck but she moved out of the way before landing a punch to his rock-hard abdomen. She moved again as the male attempted to backhand her away like an annoying insect, and she used her leg to sweep one of his feet out from beneath him. Just as he struggled to regain his balance Brielle collapsed his other knee and grabbed hold of his upper right mandible. He growled low in his chest but she mimicked the noise as best she could as she pulled his face closer to her own. He tried to claw at her again but she slammed her knee into his diaphragm and halted his attack.

They stayed in this position for several seconds, watching one another with nervous expectation. Finally O'kaor grabbed Brielle by the back of her thighs and stood up, taking the female as he went. Her grey eyes widened but she made no sound as he carried her to the wall furthest from the prying human. T'ahrou had already turned his back to them as he cradled Dhadtoudi in his arms.

**_"You will not make a mockery of me and get away with it, is that clear, lou-dte kale?"_ **

****

**_"Very."_ **


	59. 59

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ****Lemon Warning****

Another growl left his throat as his mandibles traced the length of her neck, his hard member already pressing against her entrance. Brielle shivered at the feeling, her heart pounding in her chest. Her mind flickered back to the thought of Jennings watching them and her cheeks burned red with embarrassment. She hid her face in O'kaor's shoulder as she braced against his solid body.

########

_"Ghost...why don't you have a mate?"_

_"Because the females of the clan do not interest me." She stared at him as he sank beneath the water and rose back up a moment later, his rippling muscles glistening with tiny droplets._

########

Her fingernails pressed into his chest as he eased inside her velvety folds. The pressure was intense as her body tried to accommodate his size, and he could taste the addictive sweetness in the air.

O'kaor made smooth, slow strokes as he entered her time and time again before finally wrapping a hand firmly around her neck as his thrusts became stronger and more erratic. Her face reddened from the limited oxygen and one of her own hands moved toward her breast. O'kaor hissed a warning and her hand moved to rest upon his forearm.

########

_"If the females don't interest you, does that mean the males do?"_

_"Do not speak of such things."_

_Brielle grinned as she edged towards O'kaor, her body creating gentle waves as she moved through the pool. "Then tell me, ‘great warrior’..." she was inches away from him now, "what's your poison?"_

_"You speak in riddles, soft one."_

_She positioned herself so that she was sitting in his lap, facing his own body as she straddled his hips. His eyes narrowed into slits but he did not protest. "What does interest you, Ghost?"_

########

O'kaor's massive hand had moved from her neck down to her chest as he groped her firm mounds. Brielle cried out as his throbbing member assaulted her lower half. The sound was like a drug to the Yautja and he craved more.

**_"Look at me..!"_** He growled the words and Brielle had to force her eyes open as she struggled to focus through the haze of lights surrounding her vision. **_"What are you?"_**

**_"Your whore..!"_** He blinked in confusion for a moment and a surge of panic shot through her for a split second before she mulled over what he'd said.

**_"What are you?"_** He repeated the question and Brielle groaned. Oh how she hated that question. **_"Answer!"_**

**_"I am Naxa...m-mate of O'kaor..."_** she spoke the words through gritted teeth as she neared climax and the male clicked with pride. She had practiced the response constantly for the last two months but still she struggled to correctly pronounce his name; hence why she hated the question.

**_"What is it that you desire, Naxa?"_ **

**_"P-please..."_ **

**_"Answer."_ **

**_"Please..!"_ **

****

**_"Answer!"_ **

########

_Brielle could feel the slight twitches beneath her legs as O'kaor struggled with his self control. "What game is this?"_

_"Just answer the question, Ghost."_

_"What business is it of yours?"_

_"I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours."_

_His amber eyes narrowed now. "What do you mean?"_

_"I'll tell you who interests me if you tell me who interests you."_

_"Tell me."_

_"You first."_

_"Answer."_

_"That's not how this works. You go first, and then I will."_

_"Answer so I may flay them alive and use their hide as a rug!"_

_She grinned again before reaching down to grip his bulge. "You're so possessive...and I really like that about you."_

########

**_"Answer, Naxa!"_ **

**_"I wish to be fulfilled!"_** A low growl rumbled through O'kaor's chest, the sound reverberating throughout her own body. His thrusts increased in both speed and intensity until finally he felt her body seize as she cried out in ecstasy. Her delicate muscles clenched around him as she was overcome with the powerful release, and he soon followed with his own climax. She could feel his body shift and she knew he was going to put her down. **_"Don't you fucking move. You're staying here."_** When she finally managed to slow her breathing, she looked at him with cloudy, tired eyes. **_"What's that look for?"_**

O'kaor's mandibles formed what she had come to recognize as a grin or smile. **_"You're possessive, and I like that about you."_**


	60. 60

Jennings watched, dumbfounded as Ronaldi interacted with the creature, seemingly mock fighting with it before it carried her to the other side of the containment cell. Jennings found that he couldn't take his eyes away from them for even a second to jot down some notes about the strange mating ritual, let alone how aggressive the actual mating process seemed to be.

It stood to reason that such a large and violent species would have a more extreme way of procreation, but that didn't mean it was any less surprising to see firsthand.

The part that seemed to intrigue him the most was how little Brielle had argued over his proposed arrangement. Perhaps it was simply atask that she knew she needed to fulfill in order to help the other female...but she seemed too comfortable with the situation, like she had done it before.

He thought on this as he scribbled down his observations while stealing the occasional glance at the woman. The massive creature was seated with his back to Jennings, though he still held Brielle in his arms like a large dog guarding his favorite squeaky toy or rawhide.

A chill made its way throughout the scientist's body as he imagined the possibility of regular fornication practices between the two subjects, but he quickly pushed it aside. "Okay Ronaldi. As soon as you can get away from that thing,I'll let you out to retrieve the Epi-Pen." There was silence for a moment before a soft clicking sound reached his ears, and it was soon answered by a deeper clicking sound that was backed by a deep, rumbling tone.

The creature's arms shifted and Brielle stood to make her way - wobbly as she was - to the cell door. Jennings approached a nearby control panel and looked at the woman once more. "They'll stay where they are." Jennings nodded and deactivated the locking mechanism.

The door slid open and Brielle stepped through before it sealed shut behind her. The armed guard didn't try to hide the fact that he was gawking at her blatant nudityafter returning to his position inside the room, and she didn't seem to notice much less care. She took slow, silent steps across the room to the armor and picked up the chest plate; it was massive compared to her small human body, but she lifted it with relative ease. She flipped it over and pressed a hidden button on the back piece which opened a small storage compartment that was built into the metal. Brielle pulled a large metal syringe and a vial of florescent blue liquid from the compartment and resealed the device before placing the armor back on the table.

Within a few seconds she had the object assembled and ready for use, and she returned to the containment cell. The smaller of the two males was now facing the doorway though he hadn't moved from his original spot against the far wall. His amber eyes tracked the woman like a bird of prey watching an unsuspecting rabbit in the forest night.

"You're sure he'll stay in there?" Brielle smiled at Jennings's question.

"He won't do anything that I don't want him to do."

After a moment Jennings pushed his black-framed glasses higher on his nose and deactivated the locks once again. As soon as the door slid open, Brielle side-stepped and the smaller male rushed to the entrance with lightning speed. The men didn't even have time to process what was happening before The creature swiped his razor sharp claws through the guard's neck, nearly decapitating the man.

Jennings was reaching for the panic button on the console when Brielle launched the syringe straight into his eye socket. The long needle pierced his brown eye and continued on to penetrate his brain. The scientist fell dead where he stood and Brielle approached the lifeless corpse. Kneeling before the dead man, she leaned closer to his bleeding head. "His name is Ghost. Remember that."


	61. 61

_Dhadtoudi sauntered along the sidewalk of the large human city with Brielle at her side. They walked with interlocked arms, their hands tucked into their jacket pockets to shield their fingers from the frigid air. The two large mirages moving atop the buildings easily kept pace with the women as they approached the human dwelling known as an apartment._

_The two women made their way up the winding staircase before entering the dwelling on the top floor, and Dhadtoudi moved to open a window on the far wall. A moment later a heavy thud resounded from the fire escape as the larger of the two mirages landed in front of her. She backed out of the way to allow them entry through the square opening, and T'ahrou deactivated his cloaking device as he stepped closer to Dhadtoudi._

_The male brushed his mandibles across her forehead as he often did to show affection to the woman as his large arms wrapped around her waist. O'kaor had already retreated to one of the bedrooms with his own female, so they were left in privacy for the time being._

_"Do you prefer it here, dearest one?"_

_Dhadtoudi offered him a sad smile. "Prefer it? No. Enjoy it? Yes. O'kaor's mate has helped me find some joy in the Ooman civilization...but I do not prefer it over our home. I miss your family, our friends, and I especially miss Nracha-dte." T'ahrou laughed at the mention of the defective hellhound. Dhadtoudi had always been partial to that creature though he had often suggested she execute it since it would not serve its purpose as a reliable tracker during hunts._

_"Ath-Meye sends her regards. My mother was quite fond of you despite your heritage."_

_"Do you mean 'fond' or 'fascinated'?"_

_"Can it not be both?" Dhadtoudi raised a curious brow at him and he let loose a rumbling chuckle. "Worry not, little one. You found favor in her eyes regardless."_

_A sharp stinging sensation erupted in her arm, but she ignored it. "Naxa tells me of a frozen body of water which the Oomans dance on by using specialty boots. She says it is a festive tradition to do so. I wish to participate,T'ahrou." He clicked in amused confusion but Dhadtoudi continued. "She showed me images. Recordings. It looks delightful and I wish to participate."_

_He flexed his mandibles before patting the woman atop her head. "Very well. If you wish to do so, you may. I will accompany you to the body of water and watch from afar. We will return to the dwelling when you are ready. Agreed?" She nodded with a bright smile spreading across her pink lips._

_A fiery heat radiated from the painful spot on her arm and began to spread throughout her body._

_"T'ahrou, I do not feel well."_

_"Are you ill?"_

_I...I do not know. My body hurts."_

_"Dhadtoudi..." Brielle's voice called from the other room._

_"It hurts, T'ahrou. I want it to stop."_

_"Dhadtoudi..!" Brielle called her again and for a split second she looked towards the smaller woman's bedroom._

_"Do you wish me to contact Aytu? Perhaps he will have an idea of what to do." Dhadtoudi shook her head at her mate's suggestion. There was no sense in calling the healer when he was several light years away._

_"Dhadtoudi! Wake up! Get off your ass!"_

########

Dhadtoudi's eyes fluttered open as she looked around for the source of her name. She was lying on the floor, and Brielle was kneeling beside her. O'kaor was on the other side of the lab trying to hack into the human computing device, and T'ahrou was a few feet away from him strapping himself into his armor.

_**"What is this?"** _

__

_**"We're in a different part of the lab than you were before. O'kaor is trying to find a way for us to leave."** _

__

_**"My body burns..."** _

**_"It's the healing serum. They cut into your stomach but I repaired it. We used the serum on you to expedite the healing process so you would be able to move freely on your own."_ **

Dhadtoudi nodded her thanks as she leaned up to place her weight on her elbows. Her muscles screamed at her but she continued until she was in a seated position. **_"You betrayed us."_**

****

**_"I did not. I tried to help but I was deceived."_ **

****

**_"I said all along the Oomans were not to be trusted. They are a traitorous, conniving species. They will do whatever they deem to be necessary to achieve their heinous and immoral goals."_ **

Brielle bit her tongue to keep from arguing with, and consequently enraging Dhadtoudi. Instead she helped the woman to her feet so she could join her mate as he readied himself for battle with the unsuspecting humans. **_"For once...I think you were right..."_** The admission came as little more than an outward thought as she whispered the words to herself as she watched Dhadtoudi remove the bandages from her abdomen to reveal a large, jagged scar across her lower stomach.


	62. 62

Alarms blared through the facility as the group made their way through the maze of corridors. T'ahrou had used his cloaking shield to move ahead and clear the path, and Dhadtoudi kept broad, steady strides as she led the way after her mate. Brielle stayed between the hierarchal female and O'kaor with the male bringing up the rear.

When they first began their trek through the expansive building, Brielle had wondered how they would follow behind T'ahrou without the rest of their gear to track or communicate with him...only later did she find out that they needed only follow the trail of bodies.

O'kaor had long since told Brielle that T'ahrou was a force to be reckoned with, particularly when Dhadtoudi was involved, but now she was seeing firsthand just how true that warning had been. As they moved through the hallways and metal doorways that had practically been destroyed, the body count continued to grow until eventually there was hardly enough intact limbs and organs to know that it had at one point been a body and not just a puddle of red mush.

It seemed his killgland was working in overdrive and only continued to worsen as he continued. It no longer appeared to be the scene of an escape attempt, but more the product of a rage-driven massacre. The sight of it made Brielle's skin crawl and her stomach lurch, but she kept a tight control on her bodily functions.

**_"The smell is horrid."_** Brielle looked at Dhadtoudi in near disbelief. The smell? She had killed countless soldiers at the Brooks Foundation, and Lord only knew how many other beings in her lifetime, but only now was she bothered by the smell of death?

**_"Their blood is not pure."_** Brielle glanced over her shoulder at O'kaor now. **_"The soft meats tarnish their systems with chemicals and toxins that bring great harm to their own bodies. Their blood reveals the truth of their existence."_** Was he saying they could smell the various medications, alcohol, and nicotine products that had worked their way into the people's bloodstreams? That Dhadtoudi could smell it? Why couldn't she? The only thing she smelled was the sickening metallic aroma that came naturally with blood, and of course the scent of deteriorating corpses.

########

T'ahrou's chest heaved as he stood over a pile of what had once been a group of five armed guards, all of which were missing their heads and spinal columns, as well as their intestines which had spilled onto the floor below. His mask displayed the approach of another wave of aggressors and he flared his mandibles behind his mask before activating his cloaking system once again.

The group rounded the corner with their weapons drawn as they scanned the hallway for their invisible foe. Twelve, he counted. They were wising up if they were increasing the number of troops they sent after him each time...but it still wouldn't be enough.

He rushed them and forced his gauntlet blades through the leader's chest and the man fell to the floor in a pool of crimson lifeblood. He fired his plasma castor at another and obliterated its entire upper half as the lower half was sent flying against the wall in a display of gory majesty. One after another he picked them off as they sent a desperate rain of shrapnel through the air. They fired until they had no ammunition left to unleash upon the predatory creature that watched their pitiful attempt at survival with little more than amused pity filling his soul.

He finished the rest of the group off with little effort and tossed them to the side with their fallen comrades. Based on the directions O'kaor had provided him from the human control system, he should be nearing the exit at any moment...he needed to wait for Dhadtoudi and the others to catch up, but his killgland urged him to continue; to find more adversaries to slaughter like the vermin they were.  
  


They had wronged him. They had dishonored his mate. They had subjected a member of his bloodline and his mate to humiliating displays of private acts in the name of "research". They would pay dearly for their transgressions. And he would be the one to collect their dues.


	63. 63

O'kaor followed closely behind Brielle as the trio followed the destructive path that had been created by his cousin. Dhadtoudi remarked on the smell that had burned at his throat for several minutes, and he explained that the nauseating aroma was caused by the numerous toxins and impurities within the humans' blood. Brielle seemed surprised and confused when he'd said it, but she spoke nothing of it.

They continued on their way until Brielle drew their attention to a room they were passing. **_"Wait!"_** She called to the others as they turned to look at her. **_"Our gear...they put it in here."_**

Dhadtoudi cast an uneasy look at O'kaor as she let loose a soft trill of clicks. ** _"We must not waste time. We must leave."_**

****

**_"We can't just let them keep your tech, Ghost..!"_ **

****

**_"O'kaor is right. We must keep moving. If we can get to T'ahrou, we can destroy this place."_ **

****

**_"With what? Another wrist bomb? How are we gonna get away from it?"_ **

**_"We run."_** Brielle looked at O'kaor in disbelief now but the male ignored the expression. **_"We allow ourselves time to make it to a rendezvous point. We run to the ship. We leave."_** His mandibles flicked slightly as he tasted the air. Even amidst the stench of the human blood could he taste the familiar sweetness that he had come to recognize as Brielle's scent. It blended with his own musk and it made his chest swell as he tasted the scent again. Though they had paired several times now, he still had not grown accustomed to this new aroma that their pairing created.

He clicked in surprise when he noticed the females were on the move again and he took several large steps to catch up to them. O'kaor noticed a new scent on the air now - T'ahrou's. They were close to his cousin and O'kaor wondered what condition they would find him in when they met.

########

T'ahrou had been searching some of the most recent bodies for any hopes of a trophy when the scent hit him like a punch to the gut. It smelled of musty resin and chemicals...no, not chemicals...acid. He clicked curiously as he looked toward the source of the smell - a nearby doorway.

He rose to his feet and approached the room before scanning a keycard he lifted from one of the fallen guards, and the door slid open to reveal a darkened room. The warrior switched through the vision settings on his mask until he was able to see a set of ropes hanging from the ceiling, and a tray of days-old food was placed on the floor several feet away from the suspended bindings.

T'ahrou stepped further into the room as he got a better look at his surroundings. It seemed to be a room that had once been a laboratory but had been repurposed as an incarceration room.

The smell of acid grew thicker as he continued, but as he approached the makeshift manacles Dhadtoudi's scent became more prominent as well. He moved past the restraints and noticed that the scent of his mate began to fade. He paused and turned to observe the ropes once more. He stepped closer and verified they were the source of the female's scent. He growled low in his chest. They had hung her like an animal from a trap while they held the others in a spacious box.

His primal sound was answered by a soft hissing and a cold chill surged through T'ahrou's body before it was replaced with an overwhelming rage. He switched through the vision settings again until he saw the all-too familiar form of a kiande-amedha drone.

The creature hissed again as the small inner jaw snapped outward to taste the air, strands of saliva dripping freely from its pearly jaws. The hard meat let out a piercing shriek as the spines atop its back shook violently to acquire a layout of the room. It's head snapped to the side to face him and it repeated the sound. It lunged forward to jump but was enraged when it crashed into the reinforced metal bars that held it captive in its cage.

T'ahrou felt his stomach lurch. On top of everything else, these pathetic humans had captured a kiande-amedha and kept his mate trapped in the room with it for Paya only knew how long. The woman was a determined fighter, he knew...but even the most steadfast warriors of his race knew the capabilities of a single hard meat; not to mention that of an entire hive. He could only imagine her mindset while trapped in here with that thing.

He debated setting it free to wreak havoc on the remaining human forces, but he had enough common sense left to think better of it. T'ahrou contemplated his options for the beast as he searched the rest of the room.

########

They had all heard the telltale cry of the hard meat echoing through the hallway and Dhadtoudi froze in her tracks. Her body trembled slightly as her breath caught in her throat. A moment later the sound bellowed again and she visibly flinched.

**_"Dhadtoudi..."_** she waved O’kaor off and followed the sound as it led in the same direction as T'ahrou's victims.

Her blood ran cold at the thought of the eyeless creature in that damnable room and her eyes began to sting with the threat of angry tears. She willed herself not to think of it escaping and taking her mate's life, or of it making its way into the ventilation system and killing every living being in this hellhole.

Footsteps sounded behind them and Dhadtoudi turned just as O'kaor let out a warning growl. Two armed guards seemed to be making a normal patrol as they stared at a cellular device and remarked on the attractiveness of a female, giggling to themselves as they did so. They froze at the sound of O'kaor's voice and they looked up, the blood visibly draining from their faces. Their eyes moved from O'kaor to the nightmare that was the floor, then to the females, and back to O'kaor. One of them held his hands up palms-out to show they meant no harm.

**_"Dhadtoudi?"_ **

****

**_"We cannot risk them calling for reinforcements. Kill them."_ **

"Ronaldi? What the hell is going on?" She didn't answer the man's question, just offered a sad smile before the Yautja charged the men and made short work of them.


	64. 64

It didn't take long to find T'ahrou in the room that had served as Dhadtoudi's prison, and he had taken a spot against the far wall where he watched the hard meat with shielded eyes. Dhadtoudi stopped in the doorway before carefully making her way toward her mate. The creature seemed to pick up on her arrival as its head snapped to the side and it let loose another blood-chilling shriek and its dorsal spikes set to trembling. The woman's pace quickened before she pressed herself against T'ahrou's side and refused to look at the captive creature.

**_"We need to leave."_** T'ahrou said nothing for a moment and Dhadtoudi placed her hand on his arm. **_"T'ahrou, please...I want to leave this place."_** Her voice was little more than a whisper as she began to gently tug at his forearm in an attempt to convince him to walk.

**_"You were here. You were with it."_** Dhadtoudi did not respond. **_"How long?"_**

**_"From the time we arrived until I was brought to you."_ **

****

**_"Did it hurt you?"_ **

****

**_"I want to leave."_ **

****

**_"Answer my question, Dhadtoudi."_ **

Her grey eyes narrowed into slits as she looked up at her mate, but he didn't return her gaze. Instead he kept his shielded eyes trained on the creature in the cage. **_"It did not. May we leave now?"_** T'ahrou was silent for a long moment before finally tossing his head from one side to the other, his tresses arching with the motion. He turned his massive body and stamped towards the doorway.

When it opened, they were met with the sight of 20+ armed guard with their weapons raised and ready to open fire on the Yautja. T'ahrou stood motionless for a moment before slowly reaching up and disconnecting the hoses from his bio mask, gently pulling the metal away from his face. He took a deep breath and let loose a bellowing roar, his mandibles flared as wide as they would go, and his arms outstretched at his sides with claws at the ready.

Nearly all of the guards immediately turned to run back down the hallway, a few spouting things such as "fuck that, I don't get paid enough for this shit", a handful fainted, and the remaining three placed their weapons slowly on the ground before raising their hands submissively and slowly backing away before finally turning and running full-speed after their teammates. One of them had tripped over his unconscious comrade and scrambled to get back to his feet while still trying to put distance between himself and the large, angry alien.

After a few moments the group followed their largest member out into the hallway as he reattached his bio-mask, and they continued their trek to the facility exit.

When they arrived at the massive bay doors, they were met with two more armed guard who began to fire at them. T'ahrou returned fire with his plasma castor and the humans turned into a bloody shower of burning flesh and entrails. He fired again at the doors and was pleased to see a large hole where there had once been reinforced metal.

Quick, rhythmic splashing sounds echoed into the hallway and Brielle was the first to step outside. She tilted her head back and let the cool droplets overtake her face and trickle down her body. Oh, how she had missed earth's rain. She inhaled deeply. The crisp smell of the condensation was like a drug that she had been withdrawing from; this was her first hit in nearly a year, and it was a million times better than all the ones before it.

A soft _THWOOM_ echoed in the night and a sharp pain spread through her abdomen, followed by a fiery heat. The sudden force of the impact threw her backwards and she landed hard against the ground. A warm puddle formed around her back, and her grey eyes widened in surprise as she looked down to inspect the area on her stomach.

Only a few inches below her heart was a hole. Crimson leaked from the hole and trickled around her sides to meet the warmth that was already pooling beneath her. She pressed her trembling hand against the hole and hissed from the pain. Everything fell silent around her, even the rain. She couldn't hear the deafening, rage-filled roar that bellowed from O'kaor's throat, or the sound of T'ahrou's plasma castor firing at every sniper in the area.

Dhadtoudi had rushed to her side, but she couldn't hear what the taller female was saying to her. Brielle's eyes left the hole in her skin and turned upward as she let her head fall back against the ground. She watched the night sky, taking in the sight of the falling rain, and let that heavenly scent flood her senses once again.


	65. 65

Dhadtoudi's heart skipped a beat when she heard the sound. It had been unfamiliar to her ears, but she was at Brielle's side a moment later when she fell to the ground in a puddle of her own blood. T'ahrou reacted instantly by shooting the aggressors from the surrounding rooftops.

O'kaor voiced his anger to the night. Brielle trembled as she pressed her fingers against the hole in her body. "H-holy shit..." her head leaned back to rest against the concrete as she looked up to the sky. "T-that son of a bitch...h-he fucking s-shot me..!" A soft chuckle escaped her lips. "Lucky b-bastard..."

**_"T'ahrou, scan her."_ **

****

**_"It went through her body and exited from her back. It missed her vital organs."_** Dhadtoudi sighed. **_"We have nothing to stop the bleeding."_**

**_"Do we have the components to make medi gel?"_** T'ahrou shook his head. **_"Give me your knife. Make a fire."_**

**_"How do you expect me to do that in the rain?"_ **

****

**_"Figure it out!"_** He was about to argue with his mate but decided against it when he noticed the anger in her eyes. T'ahrou set off to find something with which to create a flame, and O'kaor knelt opposite of Dhadtoudi as he looked at the damage.

He clicked softly as he began to pet Brielle's dampened hair in an effort to comfort the woman through her labored breaths. It felt like an eternity before T'ahrou returned with a large piece of burning cloth wrapped around the end of his combistick and handed his dagger to Dhadtoudi. The woman took it by the hilt and held the blade over the flame, rotating the weapon to until both sides were glowing red. "What are you gonna do w-with that?"

"The flame will sterilize the metal. The heat will seal your wounds."

It took a moment for the words to process in Brielle's mind, and she gave a sad laugh. "Ohhhhhh shit. Of course you would, you fucking masochist!" Dhadtoudi hissed a warning to silence the smaller female and T'ahrou lifted Brielle's arms above her head before restraining her hands against the ground. Dhadtoudi straddled her legs to prevent her from kicking, and after heating the blade once more, she pressed it firmly against the hole in Brielle's abdomen.

########

_T'ahrou had witnessed Dhadtoudi hold her own against several other Young Bloods in their group over the past several days, but whenever she began to take the upper hand in the fight her opponent would have his counterparts assist._

_This time was no different; she was handing Etha-T'a a generous helping of his own ass when his two lackeys jumped in and used her as a walking punching bag. T'ahrou had seen enough of the dishonorable fight and stepped in._

_**"Etha-T'a, do you dare show dishonor to the Elder's descendant?"** _

__

_**"Tah'kath is a fool, and this thing is not part of his bloodline!"** _

__

_**"She is the adoptive descendant of the clan Elder, just as Zaiyu is. To dishonor them is to bring your own death."** _

**_"Do you wish to end my life, T'ahrou? To be marked as a Bad Blood as Zaiyu's true predecessors?"_ **

_T'ahrou drew his combistick and stood in a readied combat position. **"The council will understand if the kill was made defending a clan member from an unjust death."**_

_After a long, heavy silence between the group, the three opposing Young Bloods walked away cursing the soft meat as well as T'ahrou. He made his way to the small female who pushed herself into a kneeling position, several trickles of crimson life blood dripping from her face and onto the ground. She held a puncture wound on her side that was the result of a sharp claw, and T'ahrou pulled his dagger from its spot on his thigh._

_He used a small torch to heat the blade and moved Dhadtoudi's hand from her side._ **_"What the hell are you doing?"_ ** _She hissed at him as she pulled away from his grasp, but again he moved her hand from her side._

_**"It will seal your wound. Do not be stubborn."** Again she hesitated, but eventually relented. T'ahrou again heated the blade and pressed it firmly to her side, earning a devilish hiss from the female. **"You fight well, soft one. Did your father teach you?** "_

_**"My brother. What concern is it of yours?"** _

__

_**"No concern, just curiosity. Do you require assistance to the healer?"** _

__

_**"I refuse to bother Aytu with petty scuffles. I will return to my dwelling."** _

**"Do you require-..."**

**"I will make it on my own, Young Blood."**

_T'ahrou clicked as he turned his head in curiosity at the female. **"You need not address me by my title. We are equals, soft one. My name is T'ahrou and you will address me as such."**_

########

The smell of burning flesh leaked through the filtration system in T'ahrou's bio-mask, and he cringed at the scent. Granted Yautja preferred meat to be uncooked to preserve both the flavor and the nutrients, but this particular kind of meat was one that T'ahrou had long ago sworn against. Now it turned his stomach just to think of consuming human flesh.

He looked at his mate now; her nose was crinkled and she held her breath against the offending aroma. T'ahrou thought back to when they had first encountered Brielle...he remembered how standoffish Dhadtoudi had been towards her. The grudge she held against the cult from the remnants of Loriette carried over to the new female and lasted for several grueling weeks. It took all the males had just to keep the dominant female from killing the submissive one. Now here she was, doing what she could to prolong the smaller one's life.

How funny humans could be, particularly when their own kind was involved.


	66. 66

O'kaor was carrying Brielle out of the perimeter of the compound when the group heard heavy footfalls chasing after them. They turned to see the one known as Keizer standing before what they imagined to be the remaining forces of the facility. O'kaor shifted Brielle so that he was supporting her weight with one arm, and lifted his free one to offer a human display involving his middle finger to the Oomans. It was a gesture taught to him by the female he held now, and Keizer was visibly annoyed by it.

He turned on his heel and continued to follow T'ahrou and Dhadtoudi through the forest towards the rendezvous point where they would meet the pilot on the cruiser.

########

Inside the darkened room of the facility, the **_kiande-amedha_** paced the length of its cage. It let out vial hisses and screeches, demanding to be released.

To one side of the room, beneath a desk which held a number of computers and scientific components, a small red light flashed in a rhythmic pace. A glint of dark silver metal reflects the red light as the alien characters change with each passing flash.

As the pace of the flash quickened, soon a shape could be made out in the darkness: it was the detachable pack that had once adorned T'ahrou's gauntlet.

The entrance door slid open to allow a column of light to stretch across the room toward the disgruntled creature as a soldier stepped inside. "What the hell is wrong with you now?" He asked the creature, though he knew he would receive no answer.

He stepped further inside the room and the red pulsation beneath the desk caught his attention from the corner of his eye. "What the hell..?" He approached the flashing object and knelt to pick it up, turning it over in his hand a few times. It was surprisingly light for its size and design, but it was the ever-changing characters displayed on the screen that raised concern in the back of his mind. "Hey, Lieutenant..." he called over the radio attachment on his shoulder, "I found something in the Xeno room. You...might wanna take a look."

########

The group scuttled aboard the ship, sweat glistening atop Dhadtoudi's skin from the runs down her abdomen burning with pain along the scarred incision, and the pilot began departure protocols before the loading ramp was even sealed completely.

O'kaor moved to place Brielle on the floor and he sat beside her, again resting his palm against the soft brown locks of hair atop her head as the ship neared the atmosphere of the wretched Ooman planet.

########

Keizer inspected the alien piece of tech as it blinked in his hand. "Do you think it's a tracker, sir? So they can find us after they gather reinforcements?"

"Perhaps." Keizer hummed thoughtfully as he watched the ever-changing characters displayed on the screen, and his brow furrowed when he noticed something. Was it flashing quicker now? Why was it starting to beep more rapidly? His heart sank and he felt the blood rush from his face. "GET IT OUT OF HERE! NOW!!" He tossed the device to the soldier furthest from him and gestured toward the exit. "GET IT OUT!!"

Another shriek echoed through the halls from the repurposed laboratory and sent a chill down the spines of every facility employee whose ears it fell upon.

The soldier did as he was told, but by the time he made it halfway down the corridor the device began to produce a bright blue light that enveloped its carrier and spread throughout the facility. The blast covered a radius of about ten miles and nothing was left standing in its wake.


End file.
